  | Free lunch Author: Ogle, Rex | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
A story of starting middle school on the free lunch program, heartbreaking and true. Rex and his baby brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes, were short of school supplies and Rex was on the school's free lunch program and subject not only to physical hunger but the humiliation of having it announced every day in the school lunch line. Rex's is a compelling story of a more profound hunger-that of a child for his parents' love and care.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 3.70 Points: 7.0 Quiz: 505596 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 6-8 Reading Level: 4.20 Points: 13.0 Quiz: 77605 | |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (07/01/19)
Booklist (08/01/19)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 08/01/2019 Middle school can be daunting, even under ideal conditions. But if, like Rex, you are also dealing with a father who abandoned you, a mother and her boyfriend who beat you, food and housing insecurity, and the stigma of free lunch, the results can be overwhelming. Ogle's memoir details the first semester of sixth grade, where his grade-school friends desert him for football; some teachers prejudge him because he is poor and Hispanic; and the elderly, deaf lunch lady never remembers his name, forcing him to loudly announce his situation daily. Eventually, he meets fellow outsider Ethan, who introduces him to the world of comics and true friendship. Ogle's engrossing narrative is rich in lived experience, offering a window into the ways that poverty can lead to domestic violence and feelings of unworthiness. The abuse Rex and his mother suffer will disturb many; too many others will recognize Rex's circumstances as their own. Appended with an author's note, Q&A, and social services resources, this is an important and ultimately hopeful memoir. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.
