Free Lunch

8 November 2019

Rex Ogle (Author)

Description

Rex Ogle’s story of starting Year 7 on the free lunch programme is timely, heart-breaking and true.

Free Lunch is the story of Rex Ogle’s first term in Year 7. Rex and his baby brother often went hungry, wore second-hand clothes and were short of school supplies, and Ogle was on his school’s free lunch programme. Grounded in the immediacy of physical hunger and the humiliation of having to announce it every day in the school lunch line, Ogle’s is a compelling story of a more profound hunger—that of a child for his parents’ love and care. Compulsively readable, beautifully crafted and authentically told with the voice and point of view of an eleven-year-old child, Free Lunch is a remarkable debut by a gifted storyteller.

Reviews

"What an amazing book. I don't think I have been that affected by a book since I read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas..." — Mary-Brigid Turner, Hodges Figgis Children's Department

"A memoir of Ogle's own childhood, this is a searing look at the lived experience of poverty in America, written with grace, humour and honesty. In 6th grade, Rex's mum signs him up for the free meal programme, much to his embarrassment. But his intelligence and love of learning help him survive his chaotic home life. Highly recommended. Age 13+" — 50 best books of 2019 for children from babies to teens, The Irish Independent

"This book highlights the reality of being poor in the US." — Natasha Harding, The Sun

Awards

Winner — ALA YALSA Award, 2020

Also By: Rex Ogle View all by author...

  • Road Home

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    Hardback, 2024

    This final, essential chapter in Rex Ogle’s memoir trilogy recounts being forced from his home and living on the streets after his conservative father discovered he was gay
  • Abuela, Don't Forget Me

    Rex Ogle

    Paperback, 2024

    Rex Ogle’s companion to Free Lunch and Punching Bag weaves humour, heartbreak and hope into life-affirming poems that honour his grandmother’s legacy
  • Punching Bag

    Rex Ogle

    Paperback, 2023

    The companion to Rex Ogle’s award-winning Free Lunch (ISBN 978 1 324 01694 6) is a searing account of adolescence in a household torn by domestic violence
  • Abuela, Don't Forget Me

    Rex Ogle

    Hardback, 2022

    Rex Ogle’s companion to Free Lunch and Punching Bag weaves humour, heartbreak and hope into life-affirming poems that honor his grandmother’s legacy
  • Abuela, Don't Forget Me

    Rex Ogle

    E Book, 2022

    Rex Ogle’s companion to Free Lunch and Punching Bag weaves humour, heartbreak and hope into life-affirming poems that honor his grandmother’s legacy

Hardback

9781324003601

147 x 218 mm • 208 pages

£13.99

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Ebook

9781324003618

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£7.99

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