Made in the U.S.A.
by Billie Letts
List Price:
Our Price: $0.01
You Save: $13.98 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Billie LettsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-05-04
ISBN: 044658245X
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of Made in the U.S.A.
Book Review: Unforgettable Children Slip Through The Cracks
Summary: 4 Stars
Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts is a truly unforgettable tale of children that slip through the cracks in our society. I could actually see this happening to those children that come from broken homes and families of abusive parents. This is a very emotional tale and will certainly touch you.
Lutie Mcfee is a fifteen year old girl that has to grow up way to fast. Having lost her mum some years past and her drunken father abandoning her and her brother leaving them with one of his old girl friends does not make for a comfortable life. Lutie is a gifted child with gymnastics but ends up not being able to continue on due to unfairness in the school system. This turns her bitter and who could rightly blame her. Her chance at the Olympics has flown right out the window because of this and I think that would make even the best of us down right depressed.
The story starts us at a Walmart store and the woman that is taking care of Lutie and her brother drops dead of a heart attack. Lutie and her brother end up fleeing their home in search of a father that is supposedly in Las Vegas with a job only to find out upon getting their that their father went to jail and ended up dying.
We soon find out how rough life can be for two children who have set out on their own to avoid an even worse fate of being cast into the welfare system and placed into homes that most likely won't care for them anyway.
Life is indeed tough for young Lutie as she tries her best to take care of her and her younger brother and the story is quite graphic in it's treatment of this child and the dangers that are ever so present out there in the real world when not protected by adults.
This is a sad story but with a happy ending but not all stories are like this in reality. The author has touched upon many subjects here including child predators, gangs, child pornography, drug abuse, good Samaritans, love, caring and so much more. I will not say this is a delightful story because it doesn't start out that way but it is a very well written one. Our author has taken care to do much homework on the subjects presented to give us a story that will touch us right down to our souls. Next time you see a child on the street corner you will wonder if this child is in need of help and it will make you search your soul asking yourself what you could possibly do to change just one life if you had the chance.
Summary of Made in the U.S.A.
The bestselling author of WHERE THE HEART IS returns with a heartrending tale of two children in search of a place to call home.Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.
MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.
Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.73
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)by Fannie Flagg
Ballantine Books; Published: 2007-06-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
You've Got Mail, Billie Lettsby Molly Levite Griffis, Billie Letts, Georgann Levite Vineyard
Eakin Press; Published: 1999-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops:
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man: A Novelby Fannie Flagg
Ballantine Books; Published: 2005-09-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.02
Price in other shops:
I Still Dream About You: A Novelby Fannie Flagg
Ballantine Books; Published: 2011-06-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
Shoot the Moonby Billie Letts
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2008-08-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
The Honk and Holler Opening Soonby Billie Letts
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 1999-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.93
Price in other shops:
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen: A Novelby Susan Gregg Gilmore
Broadway; Published: 2009-06-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.26
Price in other shops:
Where the Heart Is (Oprah's Book Club)by Billie Letts
Warner Books; Published: 1998-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.83
Price in other shops:
The Honk and Holler Opening Soonby Billie Letts
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2004-07-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Shoot the Moonby Billie Letts
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2005-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops: