Free Lunch

Free Lunch
Rex Ogle
Norton, 2019
199 pages
Grades 5-8
Memoir

Rex starts 6th grades on the worst possible foot. His new middle school is way too big and his elementary school friends are all pulling away. Life at home is even worse. Both his mother and stepfather are out of work and seem to be pretty consistently in horrible moods. When situations become too tense they often lead to shouting or, worse, violence. Rex is responsible for many of the household tasks, including cooking and taking care of his toddler brother, far beyond what is considered appropriate. Mom has many embarrassing schemes for making ends meet from extreme coupon clipping to scamming fast food restaurants. The worst is when Rex is signed up for the Free Lunch program at school. He really needs the meal, but it is cumbersome and humiliating to give his name everyday to the elderly cashier. All of the other kids in his suburban Texas school seem to have money and easy lives. Rex equates financial security with self-worth and struggles with confidence and finding his place. Two shining lights in his dark life are his Abuela, who Mom's pride pushes away, and a new friend. Just when things start to look up, the bottom drops again. Will Rex's life ever improve?

This is an important book for young people that is hard to place. Is it a biography or fiction? Should it be in the children's section or young adult? Libraries in my county have it all over the board. I bought it when it first came out and put it in children's biography. That said, it has since disappeared, showing that it resonates with readers. I avoided this book feeling that it was too sad for me, but finally cracked into it after a young reader said it was his favorite book ever! It is a great book and a powerful story. Being sensitive to sad stories about kids, I struggled with parts, as I knew I would, but loved it just the same. Kids who like realistic sad stories about "real kids" will find much to savor. I became very angry at the parents and knowing that it is the author's actual experiences made my feelings that much more powerful. Definitely on the upper end of elementary, this is not a story for everyone. That said, there are many children in this country living in similar circumstances and it's a story that needs to be told and shared. An author's note at the end offers some context, factual information about poverty, and hope for those currently struggling. The book ends on a positive note, as with all middle grade books, which felt a bit jarring and unrealistic to me, yet is necessary for the target audience to walk away knowing that the family will be okay. Were they really? Ogle isn't saying, but we know he survived and got out--and that's the important thing.