Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in New York City
- Downloads：9090
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-08 00:51:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Andrea Elliott
- ISBN：1529151163
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
The riveting， unforgettable story of a girl whose indomitable spirit is tested by homelessness， poverty， and racism in an unequal America—from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Andrea Elliott of The New York Times
Invisible Child follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani Coates， a child with an imagination as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn homeless shelter。 Born at the turn of a new century， Dasani is named for the bottled water that comes to symbolize Brooklyn’s gentrification and the shared aspirations of a divided city。 As Dasani grows up， moving with her tight-knit family from shelter to shelter， this story goes back to trace the passage of Dasani’s ancestors from slavery to the Great Migration north。 By the time Dasani comes of age， New York City’s homeless crisis is exploding as the chasm deepens between rich and poor。
In the shadows of this new Gilded Age， Dasani must lead her seven siblings through a thicket of problems: hunger， parental drug addiction， violence， housing instability， segregated schools， and the constant monitoring of the child-protection system。 When， at age thirteen， Dasani enrolls at a boarding school in Pennsylvania， her loyalties are tested like never before。 As she learns to “code switch” between the culture she left behind and the norms of her new town， Dasani starts to feel like a stranger in both places。 Ultimately， she faces an impossible question: What if leaving poverty means abandoning the family you love？
By turns heartbreaking and revelatory， provocative and inspiring， Invisible Child tells an astonishing story about the power of resilience， the importance of family， and the cost of inequality。 Based on nearly a decade of reporting， this book vividly illuminates some of the most critical issues in contemporary America through the life of one remarkable girl。
Invisible Child follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani Coates， a child with an imagination as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn homeless shelter。 Born at the turn of a new century， Dasani is named for the bottled water that comes to symbolize Brooklyn’s gentrification and the shared aspirations of a divided city。 As Dasani grows up， moving with her tight-knit family from shelter to shelter， this story goes back to trace the passage of Dasani’s ancestors from slavery to the Great Migration north。 By the time Dasani comes of age， New York City’s homeless crisis is exploding as the chasm deepens between rich and poor。
In the shadows of this new Gilded Age， Dasani must lead her seven siblings through a thicket of problems: hunger， parental drug addiction， violence， housing instability， segregated schools， and the constant monitoring of the child-protection system。 When， at age thirteen， Dasani enrolls at a boarding school in Pennsylvania， her loyalties are tested like never before。 As she learns to “code switch” between the culture she left behind and the norms of her new town， Dasani starts to feel like a stranger in both places。 Ultimately， she faces an impossible question: What if leaving poverty means abandoning the family you love？
By turns heartbreaking and revelatory， provocative and inspiring， Invisible Child tells an astonishing story about the power of resilience， the importance of family， and the cost of inequality。 Based on nearly a decade of reporting， this book vividly illuminates some of the most critical issues in contemporary America through the life of one remarkable girl。
Reviews
Rebecca Shepherd
，
Most profound book I have read in years！
Melanie
，
Very rarely do books shake me to my core， but this was one that did。 This should be required reading for all。
kathy keating
，
Heartwrenching。 The author does a superb job of writing about the Coates family without judgment。 The impact is powerful。
Francis S Smith
，
PainfulMs。 Elliott writes with the feel of an embedded journalist， the kind of narrative we normally see from war correspondents。 To paraphrase T。S。 Elliot， she seems to care and not care in the way she chronicles Dasani’s journey through homelessness。 She doesn’t try to be artificially balanced as many journalists do。 She included relevant historical facts to undergird her story。 I have seen criticism that the book is too long。 That criticism seems to me to reflect the tendency to avoid the pai PainfulMs。 Elliott writes with the feel of an embedded journalist， the kind of narrative we normally see from war correspondents。 To paraphrase T。S。 Elliot， she seems to care and not care in the way she chronicles Dasani’s journey through homelessness。 She doesn’t try to be artificially balanced as many journalists do。 She included relevant historical facts to undergird her story。 I have seen criticism that the book is too long。 That criticism seems to me to reflect the tendency to avoid the pain of others and minimize the failure of the constructs of the dominant culture。 The brutality of the work reflects the brutality of the life this family led， and that requires detail。 Indeed， I would have like more information about Dasani’s experience at Hershey。 。。。more
Mike Steinharter
，
Absorbing。 Horrifying yet full of hope。 The story of Dasani and her family， wrestling with being poor， homeless and up against the bureaucracy。
Jan Wilson
，
I am disheartened by the condition of our welfare system as well as the CPS piece of that。 We need to do better。
Frank McGirk
，
So。。。I'm using my library's Libby account rather than Audible， and the drawback is that I only had 2 weeks to finish listening to this。。。and since I wasn't driving much。。。and did want to listen to some Christmas music。。。I only got about halfway through this book。 Good， but not great， so far。 Definitely a thorough look into the life and the lives of her family， and one that shows clearly how the deck is stacked against one if they are born into situations like Desani's。 Hopefully， I'll be able to So。。。I'm using my library's Libby account rather than Audible， and the drawback is that I only had 2 weeks to finish listening to this。。。and since I wasn't driving much。。。and did want to listen to some Christmas music。。。I only got about halfway through this book。 Good， but not great， so far。 Definitely a thorough look into the life and the lives of her family， and one that shows clearly how the deck is stacked against one if they are born into situations like Desani's。 Hopefully， I'll be able to check it out again in another 2 weeks。 。。。more
Meredith Crawford
，
Hands down the best book I've read in years。 Absolutely incredible writing and storytelling。 Immersive， incisive， and important。 Everyone should read this bood。 Hands down the best book I've read in years。 Absolutely incredible writing and storytelling。 Immersive， incisive， and important。 Everyone should read this bood。 。。。more
Jenny
，
I would consider this to be one of my favorite reads of 2021/22。 For lover's of Random Family and other deep， careful journalism。 Elliott's book allows the entire world to see the cycle of poverty and homelessness that so many Americans find themselves in。 She treats her subjects with integrity and respect。 A must-read for anyone who believes it is simple to "pull up your bootstraps" and break free from poverties grasp。 I would consider this to be one of my favorite reads of 2021/22。 For lover's of Random Family and other deep， careful journalism。 Elliott's book allows the entire world to see the cycle of poverty and homelessness that so many Americans find themselves in。 She treats her subjects with integrity and respect。 A must-read for anyone who believes it is simple to "pull up your bootstraps" and break free from poverties grasp。 。。。more
Hilma Hólm
，
Góð
Lexi Wong
，
Just absolutely devastating and upsetting。 I was rooting so hard for Dasani to make it at Hershey and then abruptly remembered that this isn’t a movie。 It’s their life。
Maddie
，
Literally cannot recommended this enough
Rachel
，
Man， this is a HARD but important read。
Ben
，
Stunning and heartbreaking。 I didn’t read the original series when it came out but the book chronicles in incredible detail the life of Dasani， a homeless New York child from roughly 2012 to the present。 Dasani’s story is obviously the showcase of the book， but two other things stand out。 One is how even many of the middle-class adults who Dasani interacts with are also on fragile ground。 One teacher， for example， ends up homeless。 The other is just how devastating the interaction with the city’ Stunning and heartbreaking。 I didn’t read the original series when it came out but the book chronicles in incredible detail the life of Dasani， a homeless New York child from roughly 2012 to the present。 Dasani’s story is obviously the showcase of the book， but two other things stand out。 One is how even many of the middle-class adults who Dasani interacts with are also on fragile ground。 One teacher， for example， ends up homeless。 The other is just how devastating the interaction with the city’s family system can be。 Dasani appears to be going places when the family gets separated by the system， causing everything to spiral downward。 What’s striking in that is how much bureaucratic errors or indifference play in things getting worse， such as benefits not properly transferring。 The question that lingers beneath all of that is to what end？ What is the city trying to achieve in dealing with the family？ The answer appears to be something around safety but it’s pretty clear that more stable financial assistance would be both better and likely cheaper than what the city ends up doing。 It’s also striking how poorly several city officials come off， particularly Tish James who has a scene saying she is close to Dasani but appears to have never interacted with her and disappears from the narrative。 Related to that， the one thing that doesn’t get totally addressed is what happened to the family trust created after the Times story ran？ It’s clear that there’s paternalism in the idea of who should get the funds and for what purpose （meaning they won’t just give cash to the parents） but there sure seem to have been moments where additional funds would have made a major difference。 。。。more
Genae Matthews
，
Searing， brilliantly researched and written portrait of the ways in which our institutions intended to 'help the poor' in fact further victimize low-income people and perpetuate systemic racism。 A masterpiece of a book。 Searing， brilliantly researched and written portrait of the ways in which our institutions intended to 'help the poor' in fact further victimize low-income people and perpetuate systemic racism。 A masterpiece of a book。 。。。more
Marilyn
，
An extraordinary book。 Eye opening about the culture， history， and difficulties of the homeless and the barriers ， institutional， legal and personal， to change。
Jon Fish
，
There aren't enough stars for this book。 This should be required reading for everyone。 There aren't enough stars for this book。 This should be required reading for everyone。 。。。more
Alisse
，
This book broke my heart。 Elliott does such a beautiful job of telling the story of this family， while interweaving the cold hard facts of our very broken family support system。 She gave their story hope when most writers wouldn’t find anything possibly good to say， but it didn’t feel Pollyanna-ish; it felt real and true。 This one will stick with me for some time。
Inge
，
Invisible Child is likely one of the most important books of the year。 Every American should read it。 A remarkable work of reportage。
Beth Zaleon
，
A must read for every American。
Angie Smith
，
Great journalism！ Many of my patients live in poverty and my heart always goes out to their real struggles， especially when our systems are set up against them。 This book really humanizes poverty。 I keep thinking what a Universal Basic Income could have done for this family， let alone what it could have saved our government in money， fees， and resources。 I’ll be rooting for Dasani and her family。
Liz
，
This should be required reading for every legislator， policy maker， voter， social worker， teacher， administrator。 Poverty is a result of a very complex tangle of economics， education， history， opportunity and housing。 This book follows the life of one child， Dasani， holding her family together and helping them navigate the system to survive。 Though there are powerful and caring people in her life， their individual contributions are inadequate to make lasting change。 Spoiler alert: Dasani gets a This should be required reading for every legislator， policy maker， voter， social worker， teacher， administrator。 Poverty is a result of a very complex tangle of economics， education， history， opportunity and housing。 This book follows the life of one child， Dasani， holding her family together and helping them navigate the system to survive。 Though there are powerful and caring people in her life， their individual contributions are inadequate to make lasting change。 Spoiler alert: Dasani gets a scholarship to attend a fancy boarding school that has the potential for preparing her for a sustainable and satisfying future， but she can't accept the expectations that she essentially erase herself， and she feels that her absence from the family has caused it to fall apart。 She returns to her previous environment living hand to mouth where at least she can feel real。 The author shares a lot of background of the community that was once a thriving neighborhood for African-Americans， but has since been segregated， redistributed， and gentrified， greatly widening the chasm between the haves and the have nots， leaving the have nots with no place left to go。 The takeaway is that if America focuses on one factor to make life better， affordable housing should be priority #1。 。。。more
Veronica Patrice
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is amazing！ Andrea Elliott is my new hero！ The writing is so realistic and made me feel as though I knew Dasani and her family。This book made me angry at so many of the agencies featured。 Why couldn’t John， the worker from Foundling be bothered to bring the gift cards and groceries when he said he would？ If he was truly sick and off work Foundling should have sent a substitute to deliver the groceries。The foster homes， ACS sent the children to did not seem much better than Chanel and S This book is amazing！ Andrea Elliott is my new hero！ The writing is so realistic and made me feel as though I knew Dasani and her family。This book made me angry at so many of the agencies featured。 Why couldn’t John， the worker from Foundling be bothered to bring the gift cards and groceries when he said he would？ If he was truly sick and off work Foundling should have sent a substitute to deliver the groceries。The foster homes， ACS sent the children to did not seem much better than Chanel and Supreme。 Why was Mrs。 Byrd’s husband and adult son allowed to attack Avianna and Nana？ Why was Mrs。 Byrd even allowed to foster when she admits her husband is abusive， had a child drown in her care， and was running an illegal daycare from her basement？ Why was the Hair Dresser foster mother allowed to dump the children on friends coaches on the weekends and sabotage the children’s relationship with their biological family。 What made me the angriest was when ACS forced the children to wear maroon jump suits when they first went into foster care as though they were criminals。 I volunteered with an Ohio equivalents of ACS and they have a contract with Burlington Coat Factory where new clothes are delivered monthly and children coming into care pick out several new outfits when they are removed from home。I also felt the Hershey School could have done more。 ACS should not have been allowed to talk to Dasani when her house parents and counselor were out of town and she should have been accompanied by a trusted Hershey staff member when ACS came。 It also made me angry that Hershey took back the clothes they provided when she left the school。 Since the clothes were already worn， they couldn’t very well give them to someone else so it seems like they were just being spiteful to not send them home with Dasani。I could go on and on about the injustices in this book。 Chanel and Supreme were irresponsible and frustrating as well。 It was especially annoying that Supreme never bothered to find out the contact info for the landlord when they first moved to Straten Island。 I also got frustrated with Chanel when she would lie about the Giants coach contacting Dasani and not bother to get her to practice。 It made me mad that she and Supreme were using the older girls as baby-sitters instead of making sure they were in school。 But， that does not excuse the failures of the different agencies featured in the book。 。。。more
Kasia Hubbard
，
An excellent journalistic investigation over several years over a very real family with real world experiences。 Done in a way that neither glorifies the existence but also doesn't shrink back from the truth。 Very well done。 An excellent journalistic investigation over several years over a very real family with real world experiences。 Done in a way that neither glorifies the existence but also doesn't shrink back from the truth。 Very well done。 。。。more
Mary
，
A devastating， moving， and important book。 This extraordinary journalistic account follows one family through seven years of homelessness， child protection tragedies， separation， and the terrible ways that poverty tears away hope， security， and esteem。 The book follows most closely the family's mother and oldest daughter。 Readers witness the complicated， messy， ineffectual， unfair， and cruel remedies that are in place to help poor families in NY （and throughout the country）。I recommend this comp A devastating， moving， and important book。 This extraordinary journalistic account follows one family through seven years of homelessness， child protection tragedies， separation， and the terrible ways that poverty tears away hope， security， and esteem。 The book follows most closely the family's mother and oldest daughter。 Readers witness the complicated， messy， ineffectual， unfair， and cruel remedies that are in place to help poor families in NY （and throughout the country）。I recommend this compelling and compassionate book to educators and anyone whose life touches the poor， who wants to understand how legacies of racism and inequity continue to harm lives in our world。 Readers will be so moved that despite the cruel circumstances， there is hope and love in this remarkable family。 。。。more
Davied Lubinson
，
（Listening Lengtht21 hours and 8 minutes）
Harold
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Invisible Child， by Andrea Elliott， is the story of Dasani， a remarkable young girl， from childhood into her teen years， and her family of 7 siblings and her parents as they wander in and out of homeless shelters throughout NY city。Dasani is an incredible child， smart， intuitive， talented， and extremely emotional。 She loves and cares for her family， and her parents， no matter how flawed and victimized they all are， including her。 Eventually she has the opportunity to go to the Hershey school in Invisible Child， by Andrea Elliott， is the story of Dasani， a remarkable young girl， from childhood into her teen years， and her family of 7 siblings and her parents as they wander in and out of homeless shelters throughout NY city。Dasani is an incredible child， smart， intuitive， talented， and extremely emotional。 She loves and cares for her family， and her parents， no matter how flawed and victimized they all are， including her。 Eventually she has the opportunity to go to the Hershey school in Hershey Pennsylvania， where she alternatively thrives and struggles， and eventually can not take the emotional separation from her family。This book has so many threads running through it， causes for hope and despair。 She and her family are caught in a system that is often destructive and （in this story at least） makes no sense， full of well meaning but hardened people， who don’t know， and can’t tell， in the time they are given that this is an exceptional family， and that that money spent separating them and keeping track of them could be better spent helping them。 But is that true of every family in their circumstance？ As Elliott points out in passing， the cases of child abuse drive the enormous expense， and while Dasani and her siblings are abused， they are more abused by the system as by their parents who while incredibly flawed love them and care for them， and desire above everything else to keep the family together through all of its struggles。 But on the one hand when there isn’t food， they feed the children first， and on the other， how much money （much of derived from shoplifting and petty crime） is spent on drugs？And in the middle of this story is Dasani， a shining， if occasionally flickering， light。 She both triumphs and struggles， and eventually her emotions generally get the better of her。 She is a teenager after all， but a teenager who deals with things — life on the streets， hunger， homelessness， separation， drugs — beyond the abilities of most adults。 Yet， she is an incredibly likable child， as portrayed， and one feels like she will triumph in the end — whatever that means。 For example， it is easy to see her becoming a teacher and mentor of children like her who have enormous talent but struggle with so much。 And it is just as easy to see her fall to single motherhood， drugs， and a much harder less meaningful and less rewarding life。Clearly Elliott carefully picked Dasani as a subject。 She says so。 The fact that she is so special drives the narrative and the tension。 You know she can make it。 Will she？ The book ends with that question still in the air。 But how special is Dasani really？ Elliot picked her when it wasn’t clear how special she might be。 Is she just written that way？ Is she much more typical， with all of her exceptionalism。 This is a book not only about Dasani but about the system in which she caught， and it is clear over and over again how the system could be changed to help Dasani and her family。 They are getting much more supervision and much less support than they need， at enormous expense of money， but also of time an energy on their part in continually navigating a system they can’t escape from。 But even if they are in many ways typical， the system is set up for the atypical — the cases of true abuse。 It takes extraordinary lengths to prevent those， and in doing so sweeps into the systems families like Dasani’s who could be helped in other ways instead of tortured by the existing system。As I hope is obvious from the above， this book makes you care。 And think。 What will happen to Dasani and her family。 How can we develop a better， more humane system of helping people who need the help， while protection the people， and particularly the children， who need protection。 And how fortunate some of us are never to have experienced this first hand。 。。。more
Brittney Banks
，
Both phenomenal and tragic。
（Lonestarlibrarian） Keddy Ann Outlaw
，
I listened to the unabridged version of this book。 I guess that counts as having read it here on Goodreads。 Surely no one who takes in the whole book could ever forget it， for Invisible Child vividly portrays the cycles of poverty， homelessness， hunger， welfare bureaucracy， juvenile delinquencies， racial biases and addictions that repeat and intertwine in the lives of a large African American family。 Being told mainly through the point of view of Dasani， a young girl who grows into a young woman I listened to the unabridged version of this book。 I guess that counts as having read it here on Goodreads。 Surely no one who takes in the whole book could ever forget it， for Invisible Child vividly portrays the cycles of poverty， homelessness， hunger， welfare bureaucracy， juvenile delinquencies， racial biases and addictions that repeat and intertwine in the lives of a large African American family。 Being told mainly through the point of view of Dasani， a young girl who grows into a young woman during the 8 years covered， I found it unique。 Set in various boroughs of NY， the city seemed like just about the worst American city for those with little education。 Such bureaucratic tangles seem to hold back rather than foster forward movement。 Dasani chases after education， but at times falls away from opportunities her native intelligence and spunkiness does allow her。 Read it and weep， and sometimes rejoice。 。。。more
Mindy
，