Welcome to Litsy!

This memoir is a brutally honest reflection about the overwhelming emotions of growing up in poverty. Sixth-grader Rex feels incredible shame at the stigma of being in the free lunch program and inability to afford school supplies, on top of trying to shield his little brother from the DV between his stepfather and mother. Ultimately the book ends in a positive note as the family finds help.

Winner of the 2020 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction award

#SchoolSpirit Day 23: #Bicycle - The entire story is uplifting, irreverent, and filled with energy. The Afterword written by both the author and the illustrator is also illuminating as it speaks of their influences, their background, and the visual codes embedded in the narrative. Definitely a must-read and must-have. My review of two picturebooks about #Bicycle: https://wp.me/pDlzr-lDS

Very good!

Joe‘s situation goes from bad to worse until he‘s surviving on his own as a kid. The hits just keep coming and all he can do is keep going. Joe‘s description of life coming at you and watching his desperation grow as he fought to keep his living circumstances a secret was so vivid. I won‘t forget about his story anytime soon. 🌪️

I‘m going to be teaching this in my college classes this fall - lots of ideas and solutions to discuss about poverty and American society but also super depressing at the same time. The ideas here are that we could easily end poverty in our country and he leaves us with many solutions as to how. We need to examine who benefits from poverty to understand why it still exists. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“When perhaps the matter is that liberals have a despondency problem: fluent in the language of grievance and bumbling in the language of repair.”

💯💯💯

I couldn‘t find these words for myself, that‘s why I read.

“…Competition breeds choice and choice makes exploration difficult.”
💯💯💯

Desmond is a great writer.

May 2024

This book talks about America‘s low income & poverty housing in Milwaukee, WI. Desmond did such a thorough research, he moved into these housing areas to get to know both the tenants and landlords called ethnology (new vocabulary for me.) He shares stories of the people who have been or continue to get evicted from their homes; the how and the why and also the side of the landlords. It‘s really sad all around and reminds me how fortunate I am.