''Free Lunch'' is a middle-grade

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

by Rex Ogle, published September 10, 2019, by Norton Young Readers. The book follows Ogle's middle school experience of being "a poor kid in a wealthy school district."

Reception

''Free Lunch'' is a

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samue ...

selection and was generally well-received, including starred reviews from ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

,'' ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', and ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

.'' ''Kirkus Reviews'' called the book "A mighty portrait of poverty amid cruelty and optimism." ''Publishers Weekly'' applauded how Ogle "captures the experience of chronic poverty in the United States." They continued, stating that while "Ogle doesn’t shy away from the circumstances ... there is no shortage of humor, human kindness, and kid hijinks." The

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...

and ''Kirkus Reviews'' named ''Free Lunch'' one of the best middle grade children's books of 2019.

References

{{Reflist 2019 children's books 2019 non-fiction books W. W. Norton & Company books Children's books set in schools