Free Lunch by Rex Ogle

 Free Lunch by Rex Ogle

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Free Lunch by Rex Ogle broke my heart, stomped it into pieces, and then put it all back together again.  Free Lunch is based on the author’s own experiences of growing up poor and dealing with the stigma and prejudice that comes with being in a lower income bracket.  

Sixth grade was supposed to be a new start.  New school, new grade, and meeting up with his old friends.  Instead, Rex doesn’t have all of his school supplies because his mom won’t spend the money on them.  When he begins school with a black eye, his teachers assume he is nothing more than a fighter and troublemaker.  The lunch line is just as humiliating. Instead of friendliness and warmth, he is met with disdain and is forced to loudly proclaim he is on the free lunch program to the hard of hearing lunch lady.  

With his mom and her boyfriend, and father to Rex’s little brother, out of work, tensions are high at home and Rex is subject to constant abuse and neglect.  Even with all of these obstacles in his way, Rex works hard to be a good student, a good brother, and to not let the effects of poverty hold him back.  

This story nearly broke me.  Not once did his teachers ask if he needed help.  They didn’t ask if his black eye was caused by abuse, they just assumed he was fighting on the street.  No one asked why didn’t want to sit in his chair and instead stood. This is sometimes indicative of a child who has been beaten.  His mother’s pride caused her to turn down much needed help from Rex’s grandmother and her mental instability caused Rex to be much more of an adult than any sixth grader should be. 

I can’t imagine the bravery it took to write such a personal story.  The book is written from sixth grade Rex’s point of view and provides a unique and unflinching look at how children are affected by poverty.  The amount of work it takes to be poor is often overlooked or even worse, dismissed. Rex was responsible for cooking his family dinner, babysitting his little brother, and trying to keep his grades up so his teachers couldn’t find any fault with him.  Trying to save face in the lunch line, Rex would often do whatever he could to not announce his lunch status while in the lunch line. Not having the money for football equipment meant Rex wasn’t able to try out for the team. This created a rift between him and his friends who did make the team, leaving Rex to eat lunch alone.  It’s his friendship with a class outcast that gives Rex his first true friend-one who would stick by him no matter what. Free Lunch is published by Norton Young Readers and I would encourage adults to read this as well.  

I absolutely loved this book and everyone, absolutely everyone should read it.  

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