This was an incredible middle grade memoir that will speak right to the heart of so many student readers.

Rex Ogle brings his reader into his very vulnerable experiences with poverty as a sixth grader. Using a middle-grade voice to tell his story makes it that much more impactful.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This heartbreaking memoir is a necessary read for educators and middle school students. There is so much more to this story than a child living in poverty. It’s about how the adults in his life treat him, the stigma of getting free lunch, being homeless, caring for a sibling, and watching a loved one being abused. It is a lot to take in, but you’ll be better because of it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was pretty heartbreaking. There were so many times I wanted to reach through the pages and hug Rex. The way his mom treated him ripped my heart into pieces. I thought it was incredibly brave for Rex to share this true account of his life.

Free Lunch is a wonderful memoir about dealing with poverty and free lunch as a child (along with all of the other struggles in school and at home). Hand to students who enjoyed Ugly, A Child Called It, Okay for Now, and Hey Kiddo.

Author Rex Ogle’s memoir of sixth grade is not an easy book to read. His story is one of poverty, neglect, and abuse of all types, physical, emotional and verbal. Most readers will spend the entire book wondering if life could really be that bad for anyone and hoping desperately that some miracle will happen and Rex and his little brother will be whisked away to a warm and welcoming home someplace far away from his. That miracle does not happen, but Rex does come to an important decision but the end— He will do everything he possibly can to focus on every bit of good he can find in his life and he determines that he will not allow himself to become what was modeled for him. “Free Lunch” is not for the young reader or for someone looking to be simply entertained; the emotions are too raw, the language is harsh and profanity is included, and for many, the abuse would be disturbing. But those who do read it could be very different when they are finished, either because they realize that they, too, can make the same decisions that Rex did or perhaps they will come to recognize that there are people everywhere who are hurting and maybe a little empathy will be the result. Target audience is likely grades 6-8.

Thank you NetGalley and Norton Young Readers for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book tore my heart out. I felt physical pain while reading this and I think everyone needs to read this book. Educators, parents, and kids. All people. It is a book to help understand so many things that other people go through and what they do to survive.

Read it now.

This is a gut wrenchingly honest portrayal of the author’s 6th grade year. Rex Ogle’s life was a non-stop struggle. His mom and dad divorced, and soon, his mom found a new boyfriend. They were dirt poor and struggled to keep jobs. Rex experienced verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his mom and her boyfriend. He was pinched, slapped, belittled, called many bad names, forced to care for many of the adult tasks such as cooking, taking care of his little brother for days on end, paying the bills, etc.

The first time Rex remembers being left alone caring for his brother was when he was 9. His parents said they would be gone for 1 day. In reality, they were gone for 4 days. And his brother was younger than 2. Not only that, but there was not enough food and they ran out before their parents came home, There was never enough food.

His mom obviously suffered from some sort of mental illness. She would often sabotage anything positive in their lives. Once when they were given groceries, which they needed, she torn open the packages and let the food spill all over the floor.

Rex had nothing in his bedroom. No bed. No toys. No furniture. Just a sleeping bag and a boom box. And soon, his parents took his boom box, one of the only gifts he ever received from his real dad, and pawned it off to help pay the bills. The family lived in subsidized housing that was infested with cockroaches, Life was worse than tough, it was downright horrifying at times.

With all the trauma happening at home, it’s no surprise the Rex struggled emotionally. He loved his parents but hated them too. He felt like all the responsibility fell on his shoulders, and mostly, it did. He was deeply ashamed of his family and their living situation. Every. Single. Day, at school, while in the lunch line, he had to tell the lunch lady his name and that he was on the free lunch program. How humiliating. Rex would concoct different ways to try to keep anyone else from hearing that he was on the free lunch list. Eventually he met a true friend who had no prejudice toward him who taught him that all families have struggles.

This book is ultimately about the emotional journey the author took to learn to accept and rise above his lot in life. Rex was able to rise above the abuse and the confusion that that abuse brought to his life. He was able to step outside of the abuse and see beyond his own pain to see his mother’s pain. He was able to return good for evil. He recognized that the emotion inside of him could cause him to become what his mother was. He fought against that with all his might.

I appreciate why the author wrote about his life. He felt alone in his experiences. He thought his family was the only one who struggled with problems. Not a lot of literature for teens portray this kind of experience, even though 1 in 5 children experience poverty. He wants other kids going through similar trauma to know they are not alone. I think his writing of these difficult subjects is very tastefully done.

Because of the trauma portrayed in the book, I think it would be best recommended for the mature high school aged student or teens who’ve experienced abuse, poverty, or some sort of trauma. Not only are the details of abuse shared, there are other cautions about mature content such as swear words, another boy jokes about groping a young woman’s breasts, name calling (pussy), some neighbor kids drink the Freon out of an air conditioner and end up in the hospital, Rex is fascinated with horror movies and dressed up like Freddy from Friday the 13th for Halloween, etc.

This sounds like quite the downer of a book, and it was. But there is also hope and good to be found, Lessons are learned. Truth is spoken. Emotional growth happens as Rex comes of age. I believe that telling the truth is freeing and healing and I think that’s what kept Rex’s hope alive.

This is a worthwhile plunge into difficult content.

I received an electronic ARC copy of this book from net galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A book that, if our youth read it, could change their outlook and then, their lives! So well done, life changing!-Green Gables Book Reviews

Free Lunch by Rex Ogle is the story of Rex Ogle’s first semester in 6th grade.

Rex lives in a home with his Mom and Sam, her boyfriend and Ford’s Dad. They have been struck by poverty and Rex is experiencing it first hand, at an age where fitting in is what every kid wants. Rex is often the main caregiver for his baby brother, Ford, and the cook in his home, when there is food there for him to prepare. As Rex prepares for his first day of school, he realizes he needs lunch money. When he asks his Mom, she tells him he’s on the Free Lunch Program and doesn’t need money this year. He accepts this, but asks a few questions, as Mom ‘s explosive outbursts are something that Rex tries to avoid. He quickly finds out he shouldn’t have asked any questions this time, either.

Distressed, with a hole in the bottom of last years backpack, wearing clothes that are too big and shoes that are too small and with a shiner on his eye, Rex starts to navigate 6th grade. He feels the glare of his English teacher, Mrs. Winstead, as he enters his class. He sees her eyes on him as she declares there’s a “zero-tolerance for fighting.” Does she think he likes looking this way? He’d change everything about his appearance, if he could.

The day has definitely not started off as Rex thought it would and now it is time for lunch. How does this “free lunch” thing work? He’s so hungry! He’s always hungry, there’s never enough food at home. but, what does he do? How does he get through the line? He sweating as he approaches the cashier. “Free lunch” he says quietly…he never would have thought that nearly every day he’d need to utter those words and his name.

Anger begins to seep into Rex’s life. He is surrounded things to be angry about. He’s always hungry. Kids his age are out riding bike and playing-he’s baby-sitting Ford. His Mom’s emotions are unpredictable. Can’t she just be nice to him? Why does he have to be afraid of how she will respond all the time?

Rex and his family are in a bad cycle. He can’t go to his parents for help-they are the problem. School won’t help. He feels like telling at everyone!

Then, one day there’s a small glimmer of hope. An apology from someone unexpected. A new place to live. A job opportunity. Can things get better from here? Can life really get better for Rex and his family who have been through so many hard times?

This is a book that was hard to put down. It gives a glimpse into a life we don’t often see. I am thankful for this book to open my eyes to a world that I don’t know much about. I feel like reading this book could make us all more understanding to others situations. We’re all struggling in some way, but what Rex and kids like him go through isn’t ok. As a whole, we need to help families that are trying so hard to make it on their own in this world. Truly, a book that, if our youth read it, could change their outlook and then, their lives! So well done, life changing!

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC!

5 stars, without a doubt.

Thank you to @netgalley and @w.w.norton for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Whew, this one was tough to read. The author tells the story of his sixth grade year, when his family hit rock bottom financially and he qualified for free lunch at school. He was humiliated as he told the lunch cashiers to look his name up in the free lunch binder. Meanwhile, his mother spins even more out of control than before, is beaten by her boyfriend, and refuses help from Rex’s abuela. This is an important book for school libraries; kids will either identify with it, and hopefully those who do not will build empathy because of it. Recommended for grades 6+, and it is out 9/10/19.

This is a memoir, so truth is contained within, in some form.

However, the ending is too optimistic. I want to reach through the book, grab this kid, and bring him to safety. A job is not going to treat his mother's mental health, and government subsidies are not going to curtail the boyfriend's physical abuse.

With that said, I did stay up until 2 AM on a school night to finish reading it.

So powerful. Rex Ogle is an editor and writer at DC Comics. His memoir is a reminder that EVERYBODY is dealing with stuff. His stuff? His childhood was spent in poverty, with a mentally ill and abusive parent. Free Lunch doesn’t pull any punches, and puts the reader right in the midst of his 6th grade year, as he navigates his mother’s extreme mood swings, his dread of grocery store visits with food stamps, his fear that others in his class will discover that he gets free lunch and lives in subsidized housing. He is the primary caregiver to his little brother.
Excellent pacing and spare narration will appeal to a wide range of readers, from middle grade through high school. His depiction of his mother’s mental illness, while heart-rending, is sensitive and authentic.
My one beef? Not crazy about the cover image. I hope it doesn’t put younger readers off.

Thanks to NetGalley for the electronic ARC.

At times a difficult read, at times light hearted and fun, Rex Ogle’s memoir of the first half of sixth grade is an important book for all. Empathy is the message I take from this. I’ll surely share this one with my 8th grade students.

Free Lunch is a biographical account of Rex's life in the first semester of 6th grade. He is poor - so poor that his mom signs him up for the free lunch program and they have to move from their low income housing to government assisted housing. Rex is embarrassed and doesn't want anyone to know. In addition, there is abuse both physical and emotional between his stepfather and mom and between both of them and Rex.
The book is a hard read but unfortunately is something that too many of our kids experience. It is a good book in that it shows how Rex is able to navigate through his emotions and seek to better understand the situation.

I found this memoir to be absolutely heartbreaking. Rex's middle school years are particularly awful As he tries to find a a safe place at home, at school and among friends, Rex must decide what his own values and morals will be.
I must day I wish there were a few more chapters. I want to know how Rex went from his crisis-laden middle school years to the next chapter in his life.

This was a tough read. It's a true account, and a brutally honest look at poverty, domestic abuse, and what happens when kids have to take care of themselves.

Here Ogle recounts his 6th grade year--a year full of turmoil. His mom and boyfriend are struggling to find jobs, and their frustration and anger usually turns into physical abuse--both towards each other and towards Rex. He's in charge of caring for his toddler brother, even when the adults are gone for days at a time. School is his refuge, but there he deals with feeling left out and feeling ashamed of his family's poverty.

It's particularly hard reading this as a teacher, because Rex's story is the story of many of my own students.

Rex Ogle's childhood pangs and pains of hunger, abject poverty, and abuse will bring hope to those who may be experiencing those realities, as well as empathy to those children more fortunate. I will use this title in my graduate children's literature class as an exemplary memoir for middle grades.

I won’t lie. This book was difficult to read. Free Lunch deals with so many important issues—poverty, domestic violence, and racism—but in a way that students will understand and relate to. Sadly, Rex is not unique and his story is that of thousands of other children in this country, but a story that is seldom addressed in middle-grade fiction. This book will help people.

I liked this story about Rex, who is growing up in poverty. Rex's mom struggles with mental health issues as well as violence and some questionable decision making. Rex's common-law step dad is often violent and Rex has to protect his little stepbrother. Rex has been enrolled in the free lunch program at school and is really embarrassed. His friends from elementary school are ignoring him since his mom won't let him play football. He eventually makes a new friend, who turns out to be a much better friend than the old ones. This book has a really positive and upbeat ending.

Thank you Rex Ogle for writing so many people's story. Though my life wasn't quite as awful, I was glad to grow up and get away from it and raise my own family better. I feel for what he experienced both from my own experience and from what I witnessed. Grown ups were not trust worthy or good in my young self's opinion. Kids were vulnerable enough to be picked on as they were on hand. Parents believed other adults, especially teachers and anyone perceived as "betters" or authority figures, kids were always on the losing end and liable to be beaten. I swear our teachers relished beating us. A lot of people in my age group remember being abused by adults as kids and being asked "Who's going to believe you? You're just a kid and kids lie."
I think most children have a pretty rough time of it. Too bad we can't pick our parents or the society we live in.
Kudos on the book Rex Ogle.

Free Lunch by Rex Ogle is well-narrated gut punch: being poor, enduring abuse, suffering hunger, minding a toddler, living with psychologically unstable parents/step-parents, and surviving in a household unbalanced in nearly every conceivable manner is his way of life.

Having taught in a district where poverty is a thriving reality, I wasn’t caught so off-guard as I might have been otherwise. Rex Ogle’s middle school experiences were a step removed, though. In most of my elementary school experiences for example, the kids were just happy to get food and a “free lunch card” was often an enviable commodity. In Free Lunch though, Rex makes clear the stigma of “being poor” in an older age group. While the hunger persists, the desire to fit in and the adolescent self-consciousness add to feelings of anger, injustice, resentment, and a bevy of other negative emotions.

Mr Ogle brings these emotions to the forefront in his autobiographical account of going to middle school as a kid from a poor family. His struggles trying to fit in at school by hiding his free lunch status, staying immaculately clean despite having to wear secondhand clothing, and dawdling around the school until there weren’t any students around to see the place he called home. The prejudices weren’t limited to fellow students though; shopkeepers, teachers, and other parents were also sources of unrest.

Home life wasn’t any better for Rex: he was often left to watch over and care for his toddler half-brother, sometimes for days at a time without any adults present; he was responsible for taking out the trash, getting the mail, and balancing his mother’s checkbook; he suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his mother and stepfather. His story is accessible, engaging, and I’d recommend it to all students, teachers, and parents, but especially in those districts where income disparity is most prevalent.


Thanks to Norton Young Readers at W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the provided e-ARC and the opportunity to read this book. My review is honest, unbiased, and voluntary. #NetGalley #FreeLunch