Chester County Library recently issued the following announcement.
Curious to see what the current book club read is?
November's book for the Chester Main Teen Book Club is "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle. The Chester Main Teen Book Club is for 6th to 8th graders interested in joining a group of their peers in reading and discussing a book monthly. This book club meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
Summary:
Instead of giving him lunch money, Rex’s mom has signed him up for free meals. As a poor kid in a wealthy school district, better-off kids crowd impatiently behind him as he tries to explain to the cashier that he’s on the free meal program. The lunch lady is hard of hearing, so Rex has to shout.
Free Lunch is the story of Rex’s efforts to navigate his first semester of sixth grade—who to sit with, not being able to join the football team, Halloween in a handmade costume, classmates and a teacher who take one look at him and decide he’s trouble—all while wearing secondhand clothes and being hungry. His mom and her boyfriend are out of work, and life at home is punctuated by outbursts of violence. Halfway through the semester, his family is evicted and ends up in government-subsidized housing in view of the school. Rex lingers at the end of last period every day until the buses have left, so no one will see where he lives.
Unsparing and realistic, Free Lunch is a story of hardship threaded with hope and moments of grace. Rex’s voice is compelling and authentic, and Free Lunch is a true, timely, and essential work that illuminates the lived experience of poverty in America
If you are interested in joining the Chester Main Teen Book Club, please call 803-377-8145 for more information.
Next Meeting: November 18, 2021
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up