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Top of the pile
83
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
91/100Critics
75/100Scholars
Author:
Lauren Sandler
Publisher:
Random House
Date:
April 28, 2020
A journalist follows a young mother as she navigates the labyrinth of poverty and homelessness in New York City. In her attempts to secure a safe place to raise her son and find a measure of freedom in her life, Camilaâone of 45 million Americans living below the poverty lineâcopes with dashed dreams, failed relationships, the desolation of abandonment, and miles of red tape with grit, humor, and uncanny resilience.
What The Reviewers Say
Camila’s story feels like a warning: If in prosperous times this is the best our government can do to assist those struggling to get by, then in these coming difficult times we will be able to do very little.
... [an] engaging and moving new book.
Camila’s story is both uniquely her own and illustrative of the grindingly dictatorial public assistance programs that are determined not to assist.
Journalist Sandler, in fluid prose, sheds insight into the lives of those living below the poverty line by profiling one year in the life of Camila.
