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Invisible Child
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in an American City | Andrea Elliott
"Invisible Child follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani Coates, a child with an imagination as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn homeless shelter. Born at the turn of a new century, Dasani is named for the bottled water that comes to symbolize Brooklyn's gentrification and the shared aspirations of a divided city. As Dasani grows up, moving with her tightknit family from shelter to shelter, her story reaches back to trace the passage of Dasani's ancestors from slavery to the Great Migration north. By the time Dasani comes of age in the twenty-first century, New York City's homeless crisis is exploding amid the growing chasm between rich and poor. In the shadows of this new Gilded Age, Dasani must lead her seven siblings through a thicket of problems: hunger, parental addiction, violence, housing instability, pollution, segregated schools, and the constant monitoring of the child-protection system. When, at age thirteen, Dasani enrolls at a boarding school in Pennsylvania, her loyalties are tested like never before. As she learns to "code-switch" between the culture she left behind and the norms of her new town, Dasani starts to feel like a stranger in both places. Ultimately, she faces an impossible question: What if leaving poverty means abandoning the family you love?"--
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Oryx
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Well that was incredible. Could be one of the best non fiction books I've read. The subject matter is hard to read, but also unputdownable. Wow.

Mitch Wow - that‘s an endorsement ⭐️ 13mo
TrishB Stacked! 13mo
squirrelbrain This was one of my favourite books of last year - so good! 13mo
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Chelsea.Poole
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This is an amazing work of journalism about an American family with an unforgettable girl, Dasani. Andrea Elliot began reporting on Dasani and her struggles for the New York Times when Dasani was 11 years old. Elliot follows her life in a Brooklyn shelter where she lives with her mother and stepfather and 8 siblings, to other places and situations until Dasani a young adult. The audiobook was excellent! Hardback seen here w my #muglove @AmyG

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 13mo
AmyG I meant to tell you. The coffee was wonderful. Smelled so good when you opened the bag. Thank you. (edited) 13mo
Chelsea.Poole @AmyG good! I love that place. Headed there now actually for some lunch and caffeine 😊 13mo
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Oryx
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I've got about 20 hours of travel ahead, and I've got a fully loaded kindle but of course I have to take this giant (heavy) paperback as well (because I started it last night)

Any bookshops I should try to hit in in Seattle?

LeeRHarry Have a fantastic trip! 😊 13mo
julesG Safe travels! 13mo
Oryx @LeeRHarry thanks. 😁 It's for work unfortunately, but hopefully I'll get a few hours downtime here and there 13mo
See All 12 Comments
TrishB Oooh Seattle! Sounds fab. Safe travels. 13mo
LeeRHarry @Oryx hope you get some free time 🤞 13mo
squirrelbrain Have a great trip! I loved this book - very 😔😠 though. 13mo
rockpools Safe travels! (And if you leave your big chunky book at the other end, you‘ll need to buy another one to balance your luggage 😜) 13mo
Susanita Just being in Seattle is a treat. Have a great trip! 13mo
AlaMich Elliott Bay Book Company is great. I gave them some of my money when I visited Seattle a few years ago. 😊 13mo
ShelleyBooksie Thus book sounds good! 13mo
jlhammar I second @AlaMich - Elliott Bay Book Company is wonderful! 13mo
LeahBergen Safe travels! 13mo
63 likes12 comments
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nanuska_153
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In the year 2012 one in five children lived in poverty in America.Andrea,a New York Times journalist,follows the life of one of them,Dasani,and her family:her mother, step father and her 7 siblings.Through them we learn how the system works against families and perpetuates the circle: the children are doomed to repeat the mistakes of their parents and are not able to get an education, to leave the shelters, or in the worse cases to avoid prison.⬇️

nanuska_153 It's true that Dasani's parents,although they really love their children,make a lot of mistakes,but the mismanagement and lack of empathy from the ACS and Foundling workers is shocking,especially if we take into account that they knew there was a journalist present reporting the case.It's undeniable that separating the families has a very traumatic effect on children,I believe that children have to be protected from abuse ⬇️⬇️ 1y
nanuska_153 but when we are talking about neglect caused by poverty the solution is to provide economical assistance to the parents. The cost of foster care outweighs the cost of preventive measures, both economically and socially.

The book reads almost like a family diary and it is at the same time incredibly informative and easy to follow, even if you are not a fan of non-fiction.However, it is very long (over 500 pages cover 8 years of Dasani's life)⬇️
1y
nanuska_153 and some parts can feel like repetition of the same situation and problem all over again; although I guess that just reinforces how much of an endless cycle this is. It also must have been difficult to pick a moment to stop, I can guess what the author was waiting for, but it didn't happen.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC
1y
SamAnne I read some of the stories in the NYT. They were illuminating. 1y
nanuska_153 @SamAnne if you want to hear the rest of the story you should read the book! It just keeps getting more and more interesting 1y
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jlhammar
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The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2022 Longlist! See comments below for a link to the announcement video. I haven‘t read a one and they all sound extremely interesting.

I‘m for sure going to read tagged. I bought it after it won the Pulitzer, but haven‘t gotten to it yet. I also plan to get The Escape Artist (current US pub date Oct 18). Maybe Otherlands and Super-Infinite too? Shortlist to be announced Oct 10.

#BaillieGifford2022

squirrelbrain I‘ve only read Invisible Child, which will likely be in my favourites list for 2022. @Mitch recommends Otherlands. 2y
Mitch I‘ve also got Super Infinite on my shelf Staring at me! 2y
batsy Thanks for sharing! I've got The Restless Republic on my TBR. 2y
37 likes4 comments
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ncsufoxes
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This book is truly heartbreaking, frustrating, & so eye opening. It‘s a definite must for anyone working with families dealing with trauma, housing insecurity, poverty, education. The book highlights how inter generational trauma & systematic racism continue to harm and disrupt families especially in large cities. I‘ve worked with families in poverty & Section 8 housing but I feel like there is so much that I learned from this book. The system

ncsufoxes just plain sucks. It just all needs a massive restructuring. I‘m hopeful that with people looking at what a family is going through with a different lens that there will be better systems & procedures put in place. I felt for the family as they were just dismissed & consistently mistreated. Amazing writing for such a tough subject. #nonfictionbingo2022 prompt: I‘m an outcast #booked2022 prompt: About sisters 2y
Cinfhen Beautiful review - sounds heartbreaking but impactful 💜 2y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sounds like a difficult, but must read. Having gone through something similar with Housing Authorities… the services they offered didn‘t fit my needs sadly… so much more could be done if done just a bit differently. 2y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 2y
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jillannjohn
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Early morning start on this one. Another read for work. #nationalcasabookclub

DisneyFan One of the best books I‘ve read in awhile. Became obsessed with the people being followed. 2y
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DisneyFan
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Borrowed on Libby, loved it so much, purchased my own copy to keep on my shelves. This story will forever stay with me. #pulitzer #nonfiction #andreaelliot #dasani #nyt #nyc

marleed I do that often. I know I don‘t purchase as many books I‘m not sure about because of my public library‘s association with Libby but it sure justifies that I can purchase what were originally 5* library reads! 2y
DisneyFan @marleed Yes!! You totally understand! (edited) 2y
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DisneyFan
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Looking forward to starting this. #nonfiction #pulitzer

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mjtwo
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19 Mar-2 Apr 22 (audiobook)
A heart-breaking story following Dasani, a Brooklyn girl, and her family of 7 siblings from the age of 11 to 18. The family struggles with homelessness, poverty and addiction and, most of all, with the services and systems that are intended to support them.
I was surprised by how few reviews for this book there were on Litsy. It is well-written (Elliott is a feature reporter for The New York Times) and eye-opening.

DisneyFan I just posted about this book as well. Dasani‘s story will stay with me for a long time. 2y
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JackieGreco
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This was an exceptional story of a family who faced homelessness in fort Greene, Brooklyn. The work focused on the oldest of the 8 children, Dasani, and her life between the ages of 12 and 18. 5/5

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Floresj
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It takes an expert storyteller to follow a family (8 children) for 8 years- reporting on Dasani‘s triumphs and setbacks, schools, policies, genealogy, family members good choices and mistakes. The writing isn‘t voyeuristic- but empathetic; I rooted for every character. Excellent depiction of the tentacles of poverty and its impact on society. It was 500+ pages but I wanted another 200. Elliott deserves a book award and I loved it (so did Obama)

DisneyFan I just posted about this well. Dasani‘s story will haunt me for a long time. 2y
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ncsufoxes
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Couldn‘t resist going back to B&N for a few more. I had to go to 2 different stores to find the tagged book, didn‘t realize social science books were in such demand. I haven‘t read many books on WWII in the last few years but “The Light of Days” intrigued me (my grandmother is from Poland & her family emigrated to the US right before WWII, so I always want to understand more about what was happening in Poland at the time).