Crenshaw by
In her first novel since The One and Only Ivan, winner of the Newbery Medal, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience. Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything? Beloved author Katherine Applegate proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary. This title has Common Core connections.
Evicted by
In this brilliant, heartbreaking book, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar, a man with no legs and a neighborhood full of boys to look after, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stickup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind.
The fates of these families are in the hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of the worst trailer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others, but as Sherrena puts it, "Love don't pay the bills." She moves to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas.
Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. In vivid, intimate prose, Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families forced into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America's vast inequality—and to people's determination and intelligence in the face of hardship.
Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
Good People by
"As tough as it is tender, and shot through with aching authenticity, Good People is that rare play that is timeless and keyed into a specific moment of American life, without the need to grasp for topicality...Bringing the same clear-eyed emotional observation that distinguished his Pulitzer Prize-winner Rabbit Hole, Lindsay-Abaire has crafted another penetrating drama about deeply relatable issues." -David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter "Searing, superbly written...this is a well-made play, in the best sense of the term." -Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune "If Good People isn't a hit for Manhattan Theatre Club, there is no justice in the land. Lindsay-Abaire pays his respects to his old South Boston neighborhood with this tough and tender play about the insurmountable class divide between those who make it out of this blue-collar Irish neighborhood and those who find themselves left behind." -Marilyn Stasio, Variety "Substantial, tender yet often howlingly funny...delectably uncomfortable to sit through. I'd call it a smart, painful social comedy with a head and a heart." -Dominic Maxwell, The Times (UK) With his signature humor, Lindsay-Abaire explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America. Set in Boston's Southie neighborhood, where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo, where this month's paycheck covers last month's bills, we meet Margaret Walsh, who is facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break. When a friend from the old neighborhood, who is now very successful, moves back to town, Margaret hopes he may be the ticket to turning her life around. David Lindsay-Abaire is the Pulitzer-winning author of Rabbit Hole, which was made into a feature film. He is the author of Good People, Fuddy Meers, Wonder of the World, A Devil Inside and Kimberly Akimbo, as well as the book and lyrics to Shrek the Musical. He has written the screenplays for Rabbit Hole, Rise of the Guardians and Oz: The Great and Powerful. Born in South Boston, he now lives in Brooklyn.
The Homless by
Homelessness is a tough topic to think about, but it's essential we do not turn a blind eye to a plight that can impact anyone at any stage in life. Give your readers the right kind of material that empowers them with a desire to learn about the homeless. Editor Louise I. Gerdes has compiled several primary source essays that examine two contrary sides to each issue considered. Across four chapters, readers will evaluate whether homelessness is a serious problem, that factors cause it, what housing policies will benefit the homeless, and what policies will best reduce homelessness.
Mot by
At forty, Sarah Einstein is forced to face her own shortcomings. In the wake of an attempted sexual assault, she must come to terms with the facts that she is not tough enough for her job managing a local drop-in center for adults with mental illness and that her new marriage is already faltering. Just as she reaches her breaking point, she meets Mot, a homeless veteran who lives a life dictated by frightening delusion. She is drawn to the brilliant ways he has found to lead his own difficult life; traveling to Romania to get his teeth fixed because the United States doesn't offer dental care to the indigent, teaching himself to use computers in public libraries, and even taking university classes while living out of doors. Mot: A Memoir is the story of their unlikely friendship and explores what we can, and cannot, do for a person we love. In unsparing prose and with a sharp eye for detail, Einstein brings the reader into the world of Mot's delusions and illuminates a life that would otherwise be hidden from us.
Affordable Housing by
"A collection of primary and secondary sources provides an example of American thought and media coverage on issues such as mortgage rates and the availability of real estate, homelessness, the development and management of government-sponsored housing programs in the present and past, and the impact of home ownership on prosperity and the perception of the American Dream.-- Amazon.
Borb by
Selected for The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2016 Borb by Jason Little (Shutterbug Follies, Motel Art Improvement Service) is the story of Borb, a severely alcoholic homeless man. Borb is a downtrodden urban Candide whose misfortunes pile up at an alarming rate. The narrative is presented as a series of daily newspaper strips as the author draws on the long and complex tradition of the comic strip slapstick vagabond archetype. At once hilarious, horrifying, and full or heart, Borb depicts the real horrors specific to present-day urban homelessness. Borb is Little's most complex and challenging work. Jason Little studied photography at Oberlin College, and now resides in Brooklyn with writer Myla Goldberg and their daughter Zelie Goldberg-Little. He has been drawing cartoons since he was a child. In addition to acclaimed Shutterbug Follies and Motel Art Improvement Service, he also created the Xeric Award-winning Jack's Luck Runs Out, as well as a number of short works for various cartoon anthologies.
Downtown U. S. A. by
With downTown U.S.A., the second in a trilogy of books on crucial social issues published by Humane Exposures Publishing, photojournalist Susan Madden Lankford takes her cameras onto the streets of downtown San Diego. Combining stunning images, a rich personal narrative, and a range of authentic voices from the streets, downTown U.S.A. paints a complex, thought-provoking portrait of a population at risk and sheds new light on the difficult issue of homeless-ness. In the early 1990s, Lankford rented an old San Diego jail for commercial photography. The homeless in the area, curious about the woman and her work, frequently watched from the sidelines. They began to befriend her, trust her intentions, and tell her about their world. The characters emerging from these pages are diverse and intriguing, forcing us to examine our misconceptions of the homeless as individuals to be avoided or ignored. Among them are twenty-something Jed, who sleeps in a cardboard wardrobe and guides Lankford through the city s underbelly; eighty-year-old Mrs. Walton, who lives in the midst of filth on a vacant lot she once owned; and Michael, whose present-day voice throws his former street life into stark re-lief. What shines through Lankford s work is a passion and tenacity that is rare in any form. In-sightful and empathetic, she never passes judgment on her subjects. Instead, she urges her reader to take a closer look at the at causes as well as the consequences of homelessness, to examine a system that offers no viable safety net for the denizens of our streets, and to seek solutions that will create a better future for society as a whole.
Dues by
A novel of the Vietnam War. The protagonist is David Thorne, a homeless vet in Los Angeles who lives by wine, dope and French bread. The novel chronicles how he got there, starting with his dropping out of college and getting a job in a factory. Full of sardonic humor.
Maid by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. Includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich. At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employees who called her lucky for receiving assistance while she didn't feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor. Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. "I'd become a nameless ghost," Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients' lives-their sadness and love, too-she begins to find hope in her own path. Her compassionate, unflinching writing as a journalist gives voice to the "servant" worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line. Maid is Stephanie's story, but it's not her alone. It is an inspiring testament to the strength, determination, and ultimate triumph of the human spirit.
Rich by
Dyamonde Daniel is excited about the local library's poetry contest, and so is her friend Free. The prize is one hundred dollars'just think what they could buy with that much money! But when they find out that Damaris, one of their classmates, has been living in a homeless shelter, their ideas about what it means to be rich or poor start to change. And when they get to know Damaris, they realize the one who could use the prize money the most also happens to be the best poet in class. In this fantastic follow-up to Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel, Nikki Grimes tackles big issues like homelessness in a sensitive, kid-friendly way. Dymonde's can-do attitude and lively spirit will endear her to readers.
Runaway Girl by
“Riveting . . . A genuinely important book that casts the problem of sex trafficking in America into stunning, heartbreaking relief.” (Kirkus Reviews) A School Library Journal Best Adult Book for Teens A Joan F. Kaywell Award Finalist from the Florida Council of Teachers of English Carissa Phelps was a runner. By the time she was twelve, she had run away from home, dropped out of school, and fled blindly into the arms of a brutal pimp. Even when she escaped him, she could not outrun the crushing inner pain of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. With little to hope for, she expected to end up in prison, or worse. But then her life was transformed through the unexpected kindness of a teacher and a counselor. Through small miracles, Carissa accomplished the unimaginable, graduating from UCLA with both a law degree and an MBA. She left the streets behind, yet found herself back, this time working to help homeless and at-risk youth discover their own paths to a better life. Like the multimillion-copy bestseller The Glass Castle, this memoir moves us through the power of its unflinching candor and generosity.
Karla's Arrival
Raising a baby on the streets can be a blessing. A young girl’s negative sense of self-worth might prevent her from saving herself, but once she has chosen to become a mother, she will resolve to leave the streets for the love of her child.
The documentary follows 19-year old mother Sujeylin Aguilar and baby Karla, who live as part of a group of kids in a park in Managua, as they struggle through the first year of the child’s life. The story starts three months before Karla’s birth and ends around her first birthday.
The Pursuit of Happyness
A failed salesman tries to care for his young son after they lose their home.
The Shelter
A winter spent in the heart of an emergency shelter for homeless people in Lausanne. At the entrance to this hidden bunker, each night the same dramatic ritual unfolds, leading to occasionally violent confrontations. The watchmen have the difficult task of “sorting the poor”: women and children first, men later if there is room. Even if the shelter can hold 100 people, only 50 “chosen ones” will be allowed inside to receive a hot meal and a bed. The others know that the night will be a long one.
Shipwrecked America
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most violent storm in the history of the United States, ravages New Orleans. The city’s entire population is displaced. In the land of opportunity, the disaster seems to provide an opportunity for a city’s rebirth on a fairer basis. But against all expectations and despite the Obama presidency, the Crescent City turns into a ground zero for imposing economic shock therapy, intensifying drastically the economic, social and racial inequalities that existed before. This is the portrait of a city that became the US laboratory and reveals the divisions of a whole country.
Something Better to Come
Something Better To Come is an extraordinary, thirteen-year personal journey set in one of the bleakest urban places in the world: a large “svalka” (garbage dump) just 13 miles away from Red Square, Moscow. People struggle to live there, including eleven-year-old Yula, our protagonist. We follow Yula until she is twenty-five. In spite of the terrible conditions there, people still laugh, love, support and help each other in the face of horrible adversity. Finally one day she breaks out and leaves the garbage dump in search of a new life, a normal life.
