There Are No Children Here : The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America

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Summary: Mind boggling
Review: Well, let me see if I've got this srtaight..LaJoe gets pregnant at the age of 14 and has her baby, even though she is not married. Ok, anyone can make a mistake. But no, she goes on to have 7 more children with a man who is a heroin addict and expects the taxpayers to support her family! Certainly no one deserves to live in the conditions Mr. Kotlowitz describes, and I certainly feel for Lafayette, Pharoah, and the triplets. But doesn't LaJOe bear any responsibility for the mess she's gotten herself into? How can a person of reasonable intelligence not moniter her childrens' whereabouts and notice that something is terribly wrong? When LaJoe's son Terrence, age 10, runs away from home to live with a local drug dealer, how could this mother not sit up and take notice? When her daughter, LaShawn, becomes a drug abuser (and, even more horrifying, gives birth to 2 children while addicted) didn't LaJoe see what was going on? Why did she continue to have more children when it was patently obvious that she couldn't handle the ones she already had? If Mr. Kotlowitz expects me to feel sorry for this woman, sorry, but I don't buy it.

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Summary: One heck of an insiteful book!
Review: Back when I went to school, we practiced "Duck and Cover" drills incase of nuclear war. We also had tornado drills, where we huddled in hallways. Today's kids, in the inner city, learn the above, but instead of nuclear holocaust or violent tornadoes, they are escaping gunfire and gange violence. Having lived in Chicago 20 years, I know all too well what these places are like. Warehousing the poor, that's what it's all about.

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Summary: There Are No Children Here...Wonder Why?
Review: This book was incredibly boring. I couldn't stay awake while reading. The only people who would want to read this book would be people who live in the Ghetto of Chicago. The book had little action or suspence and the boys were not incredibly interesting. Kotlowitz did do a fair job of reporting and I give him credit. It takes a lot of guts to dodge bullets just to follow a 12 year old kid around. Read this book only if you want to know about the problems Chicago has in the projects

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Summary: There Are No Children Here is an eye-opener.
Review: There Are No Children Here is the first Oprah-recommended book I read; she had the author, Alex Kotlowitz on her show a few years back. I rushed to get the book and once I started it, I could not put it down. It remains on my list of books to recommend. As the mother of four children, I found myself sobbing through the story. Knowing that these people were real made it all more emotional for me. I have three main thoughts about this book: 1. What a poignant title. I always anticipate finding the title of a book within the body of the book. Some titles require thought as to their meaning, some make perfect sense. In this case the title came from the mouth of the two young boys' mother and it makes perfect sense. 2. Being raised in a white uppermiddle class suburban neighborhood, and only having 10 or so black students in my 1975 graduating class, I guess I had certain skewed opinions of what a black family in the ghetto was like: irresponsible, lazy, always in trouble. I could go on. After reading this book I now know that I had no business forming an opinion about something I know nothing about. Ignorance is dangerous. What struck me most is that in my uppermiddle class world, surrounded by country clubs and minivans and Volvo's and BMWs and frequent dinners out with friends and Oshkosh and soccer and gymnastics and swimteam for the kids, and McDonald Happy Meals on request, the quality of my motherhood was no more valient than this mother's, living in the ghetto. She wanted for her children, living in the ghetto, exactly what I wanted for my children, living in uppermiddle class America. A back yard for them to play in (safely), a good education, carefree thoughts, happiness, a future. 3. My last and most emotional remembrance about this book is that NO CHILD should have to live the way these children lived. When I was growing up, my thoughts were "When I grow up..." These boys' thoughts were "If I grow up..." What a sin.

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Summary: This book is boring
Review: This book is the most uneventful story that I've ever read. The only person who would want to read this book would be the family of the characters or author. Anyone who is even remotely distracted when reading a book that's not "grabbing" should by no means at all read this book. I must have picked up and put this thing down about 2000 times, and had to reread sections because of my wandering mind.

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Summary: L.G.: There are no children here
Review: Online Review: There Are No Children Here This is a story of a family struggling to survive in the rough part of Chicago, Illinois. This story, which mainly focuses on LaJoe, Lafayette, and Phaoroah, is a true story of a mother trying to raise her eight children at Henry Horner, and of two boys trying to survive. This book, which takes place in the ninety's, is a story of a family trying to get by in a poor community filled with violence and crime. I think that this book tries to portray a family that, despite what is going on around them, fights to keep the problems around them from seeping into their family and destroying it. Personally, I thought that this book was inspirational and motivational. The thing that inspired me the most about this book was that it showed a family that lived a lifestyle that alot of people in america live today. To me, any true account is inspirational. Another effect that I think the book had was that it pointed out how really was, it wasn't perfect. The thing that I admired most about how the author wrote the book was that he didn't live any details out. It was easy to relate to the book because it took place in a time period that I was born and living in. I think that this is a wondreful book to read, because, like I said, it really happened and is a touching story.

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Summary: Will make you cry
Review: I read this book about about 6 years ago, and my heart still breaks when I think about it. An extremely moving story. The train that I take to work everyday passes by the projects and I wonder where those 2 boys are today. I hope with all my heart that they are happy, healthy and living successfull lives.

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Summary: A review on my opinions on the book, "There Are No Children"
Review: An eye-opening book, brought to life by a family consisting of a single mother raising five children. This book is a vivid and wonderfully put together story about a family living in poverty in the inner-city of Chicago. Alex Kotlowitz, the author, was friends with the family that he wrote about in the book. He felt that the public needed to realize the struggles that many people, and families face on a day to day basis. Mr. Kotlowitz stresses the amount of pressure and fear children of the other America feel. He writes his opinions and opens new doors to his readers by telling a story through the eyes of two children. These two children are faced with many problems including gangs, violence and drugs. This book describes the daily life of the Rivers, with detailed descriptions to help you visualize what living in poverty is like. One of the most eye-opening parts of the story was when it stated in the book that one person every three days had been beaten,stabbed or shot at Henry Horner Homes, the complex where the Rivers lived. That finally made me realize that raising children in that kind of condition could lead the children to become criminals. A crime that you see usually adds some stress to your mind and body, which in the long run usually sometimes leads to violence and sickness. After reading this book I have learned many new things. It has not only opened my eyes, but it also made me realize that I can help, and that US citizens should strive to cut out violence and poverty. "There Are No Children Here" took my level of understanding of the struggles of many families to a higher level. The story brought to life many of the dreadful conditions that I could only dream of and raised questions that are forbidden to be asked. I enjoyed reading this book and feel it should be passed on to others, so the other America can gradually become a part of the America the majority of us live in today.

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Summary: This book impels one not only to know but to act
Review: My wife and I were so moved by this book that, three years ago, we turned our 16-acre farm into a year-round day camp for at-risk children. Our camp is named There ARE Children Here. Last year we brought more than 2,000 children to be nurtured by college students and senior volunteers. Read this book with care-it can change your life!

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Summary: More Information Please!
Review: I read this book as an assignment for a graduate class. It was so intense, I did not want to put it down. It truly was well-written and made me realize how we do live in a "rainbow-filled" world sometimes. It is so hard to imagine this is a true story and people actually do live like this every day. It can make you ashamed of yourself. The story, as we all know, does not end with the close of this book. Their lives continue on, and I would love to know what has happened to this family in the past years. If anyone knows if the author has written a follow-up story or book about this family, I would love to know.