Hillbilly Elegy

I really enjoyed this smart and talented young man's journey out of poverty and into a future of his own making and I really rooted for him the whole time. He wrote well and persuasively - some times TOO persuasively. The reason I didn't rank this book higher is because it was a little too preachy - which honestly maybe was his intention; but still irked me none the less. I was also saddened that he thought government intervention was largely a waste on kids and families like him in the Appalachian mountains and in the rust belt. His attitude is more that hillbillies, family units, and communities have to start their own change rather than needing outside assistance. Don't get me wrong that has to change too - but I think it needs to be a mixture of the two. In this heartfelt memoir; JD Vance tells about his conventional upbringing and how he was able to overcome the many challenges (poverty, addiction, abuse, rotating dads, etc) because of his Mamaw and the Marines. He pulls himself up by the bootstraps and does what no one in his family has ever done before - go to Yale. It's 100% impressive and inspiring, especially when you read about his childhood. I could have done without the preachiness at the end though.

Angela's Ashes

I haven't picked this book up since middle school, but damn, it was still as powerful.Frank McCourt recounts his childhood in the Irish slums with such tenacity, hilarity, and vividness; that you feel as if you are there with him. Only an author such as McCourt could make such a trying, poverty stricken, childhood into a story of strength and humor, and belief. As a child he grew up having to accept handouts because his father was a drunk and would drink away whatever little work money he was able to get. Due to the family's malnourishment and lack of proper housing; Frank lost three young siblings to illness, and spent his entire childhood hungry and in and out of hospitals. Despite all that he was able to look towards the future and worked hard to save money to go to America. He used his brains to escape the poverty cycle and Angela's Ashes is just the first of his memoirs. There are others (that I have not read yet) that recount his life in America, his teaching job, and his adult life. A wonderful memoir, and if you get a chance, listen to it. The author narrates it himself and you won't want to miss out on his Irish accent and singing of bawdy tavern songs.

The Color Purple

All the feels. Seriously. I'm scared to even review this book because I doubt I'll do it justice, it's heartbreaking on like a billion different levels. It's the story of two sisters living two vastly contrasting lives on different continents. Celie, the older and more pliant of the two, learned from an early age that it's best to just obey. Men wield the power and it's easier to get on with life if you just accept your place in it, she admires strong women, but she doesn't think she could ever become one. Nettie on the other hand, knows what she wants and that is education and escape. Years pass but they always remain faithful to each other in their own way. Nettie as an African missionary and Celie as an abused wife and stepmother. A hauntingly captivating story that will have readers sucked in from the first page.

Evicted

Utterly engrossing, this groundbreaking look at poverty and the fight to find housing in America's cities will forever change how people view homelessness and the oft told saying, "Just work harder." Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond spent years living in the slum of Milwaukee to understand how deep the problem went and to experience first hand how the nation's poorest are living. Desmond discovered that poorest people were/are spending more than EIGHTY PERCENT of their income trying to find housing, and what they get isn't even substandard. In big cities like Milwaukee, Landlords know there is little to no incentive to clean places up when they can just evict a tenant for complaining and find someone else who is desperate enough to live in squalor. Eye opening and horrifying, Evicted follows six different people, poor black mothers in the ghetto to white trash junkies in trailer parks as they tackle the housing crisis dead on. No matter how hard to struggle to get ahead, the system is rigged against certain demographics, the main being African American women. The amount of research put into this is staggering, as are the implications. Desmond ends with suggestions on how we as a country can come together and end this crisis. After all, doesn't everyone have a right to a roof over their heads?! A must read social justice piece that sheds poverty in a new light.

I received this book for free from Librarything in return for my honest, unbiased review.