There Are No Children Here

To hardcore conservatives who believe that the plight of the poor is no one's fault but their own, I say: Read this book. To hardcore liberals who believe the poor are oppressed by society and not responsible for their situation, I say: Read this book. "There are No Children Here" shows that life is more complicated than either extreme. The lives of the people in this book are governed by complex interactions of both personal choices and unavoidable bad luck. The author sympathetically examines the terrible hardships his subjects were born into, but never shies away from showing how their situation is perpetuated by the harmful behavior and relationships they choose to pursue. Whatever your ideology is going in, you will not look at poverty the same way after reading this book.

This book describes a social atmosphere that few people actually experience or fully understand. It only provides a glimpse into the lives of two boys growing up in one of Chicago's public housing areas, but it will leave an everlasting impression in the minds of its readers. Alex Kotlowitz follows the lives of these two young boys as they attempt to navigate through the gang wars, police and government deficiencies, and the poverty stricken Chicago slums. The boys are under 15 years of age, yet they are forced to make decisions that people much older than them struggle with every day. They are forced to struggle through their childhood in poverty and without a father to guide them in those struggles. Kotlowitz looks at the two boys as they watch their friends and family members perish in gang and drug wars, police brutality, or hauled off to prison for other crimes. They also watch as their mother struggles to provide for her family and the governments inefficient handling of Chicago's public housing. The author is able to show the young boys struggle to get an education and succeed in an area filled with failures. They have few role models to guide their decisions and few opportunities for success. Alex Kotlowitz is able to point out the constant struggle these young boys have faced and the opportunities that they are deprived of. He shows how the environment both physically and mentally hampers the two boys opportunity for success and a normal childhood. The book provides an excellent look into the mental struggles they faced as their friends got caught up in gangs, were killed, and started committing petty crimes. Overall this book provides an excellent depiction of life in the Chicago public housing, and the struggle of those two boys as they attempt to survive and succeed in the ghettos.

For those readers who have commented that this book is boring, I have one question....is the existence of this type of devasting poverty boring and insignificant to your partiticular life? This is not a ficitional story of the hardships and struggles of the River's family; rather, it is a harsh reality that exists in our country, one of which we turn our backs and close our eyes to daily. This book is touching only if you understand and acknowledge the facts that perpetuate poverty and welfare-denpendency in the United States. I believe that the readers who comment on LaJoe's laziness are truly portraying their ignorance and stupidity in their comments. In my opinion, this book paints a vivid picture, too vivid for some, of the America that most people do not want to see. My advice for others- read this book because you will be shocked a horrified at our "land of the free." Are those in poverty truly free or are they drowning in a world that smothered them to begin with?

This book takes on a 'true approach' to living in poverty, especially for blacks to live in poverty. I'm a social work undergrad college student, and until I read this book, I was'nt aware of exactly how it was in poverty. Alex writings in the book, made me feel as though I was living with the Rivers and feeling their emotions. Thank you Alex for writing this excellent book. I encourage all college students to read the book, especially social work students. It really made me understand how blessed I am. Now I'm trying to see how I can get a copy of the movie, Oprah Winfrey played the mother. I didn't even know there was a movie for it. Can't wait to see it!

This book is a must read for all that have ever worked with, seen, or even wondered about the problems of inner city families and youth. It is a shocking and masterful depiction of the plight of urban youth. Kotlowitz does not force his judgements on the readers. Rather, he sets out all of the information and lets the reader decipher and digest it. The reader makes and draws the conclusions himself. It exposes a new side of the problems we see everyday. It provides a perspective of inner city youth that has been long overdue. "There Are No Children Here" provides the reader with a whole picture, not just a negative 30 second news bit.