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poodlemama99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
happylilkt's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the concept of this book, but I really didn't enjoy reading it because I didn't like the author. I found her rather crass, arrogant, and unpleasant and liked her coworkers (at least as she portrayed them) much better. As a result, it was hard for me to value her opinions and politics.
That being said, I think the journey into "a day in the life" of the working poor was extremely relevant and moving. I think her book raised more questions for me than answers and I would rather someone else had written it.
That being said, I think the journey into "a day in the life" of the working poor was extremely relevant and moving. I think her book raised more questions for me than answers and I would rather someone else had written it.
amiry's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
I was expecting something more similar to $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America (an excellent book, recommended). While there are some salient points made — some observations are now outdated while others still hold very true — I feel this would have been a better book if it were written by someone who actually was low income and not someone cosplaying it for journalism. Some passages come across condescending or judgmental of people in poverty, which I did not appreciate.
astraldylan's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.25
The book is good for giving insights to middle and upper class people, but it still a book about the poor experience written by someone who isn’t poor.
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
The Evaluation chapter in my opinion is where the meat of the story is; the 'anthropological' experiences were a little thin I thought. The tone is self-deprecating, sometimes tipping into condescension (acknowledged) or smug and sneery. Her approach to 'being poor' felt a little misguided at times, and to her credit, she does mention as a single woman, without attachments or physical impediments, she is at an advantage than many of the working poor. As a snapshot of 1998=early 2000 America, maybe it is accurate within certain contexts, but I don't think the book has aged well with the times.