Free Lunch by Ogle, Rex

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.

Author: Rex Ogle
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Published: 09/10/2019
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.80w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781324003601
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.7
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 505596 / Free Lunch

Award: Yalsa Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults - Winner

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2019 pg. 128
Publishers Weekly 07/22/2019
Booklist 08/01/2019 pg. 50
School Library Journal 10/07/2019 pg. 1