Rating: 
Summary: Realism at it's best....
Review: I read Random Family and found it to be a one of the most gripping accounts of inner city life that I've ever read. I am glad Ms. LeBlanc gave a "suburban reader" like myself the opportunity to see the vicous cycle of poverty and drugs and how it affects the youth of today. Another reveiwer wrote, "She is giving certain right wing factions all the evidence they need to be convinced that they are justified to terminate parental rights, throw people in jail, and force sterilizations. Please, Adrian, remember how ruthless our president is and don't spread these stories.' I disagree with this. We shouldn't hide stories like this. There should be more of these true accounts written. I'm glad she wrote this book. How lawmakers perceive it is their problem. I choose to see this book as one that shows our lawmakers that we have a long hard road ahead of us, in our aim to eradicate poverty from the ghetto. I hope she updates us on Coco and Jessica within the next year.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping piece of journalism
Review: Wow. What a great story. I admire the author's ability to tell it so objectively. This book evoked so many emotions in me--pity, anger, helplessness, sorrow, triumph. Like some of the other readers here, I asked myself, why can't these people take responsibility for their own actions? Haven't they ever heard of birth control or STDs? Why do they assume that the taxpayers will raise their five children apiece (by three different fathers)? Don't they realize that selling drugs will get them sent to prison? But as I got into the story, I was able to walk in the characters' shoes and see that this kind of life was all they had ever known. They themselves had been raised on welfare, with little parental supervision and the constant specters of crime, drugs, fear, and sexual and physical abuse. They enjoyed cheap rent, but at the price of poor conditions and roach infestations. As I began to watch the web of poverty unfold I understood why the characters were so trapped in it. As someone who grew up in rural ohio, this book was a big eye-opener for me. It's a must-read for anyone interested in sociology, politics, and welfare reform. It's also a fast, compelling read.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating book
Review: This book reads like a novel but is a fascinating look at this culture of poverty. In this look at Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, girls of 14 are "married" and having babies, boys are selling drugs and going to jail. The two women LeBlanc follows are at the same time likeable and incomprehensible.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully written, but lost my interest
Review: I had been excited for Ms. LeBlanc's book to come out ever since I read an excerpt from it in the *New Yorker* years ago. Her writing style is straightforward and insightful, easily leading the reader into the lives of Jessica and her family and friends, and in essay format, it worked great. But reading it as a book-length saga, I completely lost interest by the fifth chapter. Suddenly I felt like I was just reading a soap opera transcript or a gossipy chick-lit novel, and I didn't want to slog through was happening to CoCo's cousin's ex-boyfriend (or whatever) to get back to the main story of Jessica and the forces that shape her world. At times I suddenly felt like I had to work too hard to enter the scenes LeBlanc was building and experience the subjects' lives through her words.Like the author, I have a sociology degree from Smith and can really appreciate the value of her experience from a research standpoint; so I was even more disappointed that I suddenly ceased to care about the work, which I think is invaluable -- exploring the everyday lives of Americans whose everyday lives and culture are so dramatically different from that of most of the people who will ever pick up the book. No doubt the format -- the unceasing flow of narrative, the monotonous drug addictions and violence, tangle of drifting relationships -- is meant to evoke the lives of Jessica and her family, but it wasn't enough to make me care. Nonetheless, I'll be interested to see what LeBlanc comes out with next.
Rating:
Summary: Profound
Review: This has to be one of the best books that I have ever read. LeBlanc grasped "it", the life, the city, the love or lack there of, the lifestyle, the losses and the helplessness. I read this book like I would have an article in Rolling Stone, holding on to every word, wanting to know what happened next. I could not put it down. It was a personal experience for me, having lived a portion of my life like the girls in Random Family. I must say that one of my frustrations has been that there are not enough of these kind of stories out there for us to read. This is the reality of our world, our social structure. Welfare is not a luxury, housing systems are not free living, not all criminals should remain prisioners. These are everyday people caught up in a cycle, a family cyle, generation to generation. These are our neighbors, the woman at the supermarket, the girl at the doctors office, just random people. And this book is just about that, a random family. There are so many families like this, torn apart, looking for the love that so often is mistaken for money, sex or a drug. I would recommend this book to anyone who asked. I believe that Ms. LeBlanc will be one of the greatest journalists of all time. I am so impressed with her writing and her willingness to study her subjects, living in less that acceptable accomodations, dedicating herself and her life to the research, becoming apart of their families. I consider this book one of the best, I hope that you will too.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional Reading
Review: Many have remarked about the abrupt ending- but for me that was the whole point of the book- the title gave away the ending- Random- there is no ending- how can an ending be written for a story such as this- for me the ending was perfect because it exemplified the point of the book- this story has no neat begining and no tidy ending- it ends essentially as it begins and that is the irony and the point of the work- we have a glimpse into a world most of do not understand but that is it a glimpse and it continues on with or without us- worth every second you put into reading
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Saga
Review: Random Family is a pretty good book. It slowly draws your attention, depending your vangage point. I suspect that if your life is far removed from urban woes, you'll be immediately fascinated with the characters' lives. On the other hand, if the book closely relates to someone you know, it may take awhile to capture your interest. The book is so deeply accurate, you will have to remind yourself that is is actually NON-FICTION. It is also deeply revealing about a life of moral and sexual dysfunction. You begin to feel sorry, then angry, then sorry again. It will take a moment to get acclimated to the setting. Although it is an easy read, as the story illustrates itself in your mind. There are a myriad of people, places and names that move in and out of the book which makes it difficult to keep track of everyone, even though they possess some relevance to the story. This is probably due to the lack of real boundaries within the families. For me, I strangely understood why Coco was destined to live the cycle of her life or why Jessica would probably end up like Lordes: they are part of a never-ending trama which is reinforced by those around them and the family they are raised to trust. They don't seek outside help, therefore the people who are closest to them, are their biggest detriment. The seek advice and counsel among those who are equally as powerless as they are. Coco, Jessica and Ceasar are part of an entrenched family that lives a life of mistakes first, lessons second. The book emphasizes the community at every angle, describing the run-down, poverty stricken setting as an equivalent physical theme in their lives which is closely related to their inner worth It has an abrupt ending that leaves you cold and wondering what happened. Still, the story will pull you into its grasp and bring alot of issues to the forefront of your mind.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating book
Review: This book reads like a novel but is a fascinating look at this culture of poverty. In this look at Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, girls of 14 are "married" and having babies, boys are selling drugs and going to jail. The two women LeBlanc follows are at the same time likeable and incomprehensible.
Rating:
Summary: Sociology Noir
Review: I was completely enthralled by this book, and I guess that its popularity suggests that mine is a common experience. I read a lot of true crime non-fiction, as well as widely across fiction and non-fiction. It's rare to read a book which requires such close attention and remains perfectly compelling through its lengthy exposition of the lives and struggles of kids growing up in the Bronx. LeBlanc's dispassionate reportage causes us to feel a mixture of admiration, despair, and kinship with these kids: at least that's what I felt. The density of the book's description reminds us of the fullness of the most ordinary everyday life. I can hardly imagine anyone picking up this book and not finding it worthy of their time. Marvellous.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling Insider View of Poverty
Review: This book was absolutely amazing. I could not put it down. I don't think I will ever read a better book that looks into the lives of others in such a straight forward way. I hope this becomes required reading in high schools and colleges across the country. It really shuts down that whole theory of "if they would just get a job". This book takes it's readers into the entire cycle of inter-generational poverty. It gives a hard look at the obstacles people face to "make it". I left off one star because I thought the book desperately needed a conclusion. I felt like the ending was just another day-in-the-life-of and didn't do the book justice. Still, I highly recommend this book and I will definitely be looking forward to other books from this author.
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