{"product_id":"free-lunch-by-rex-ogle-9781324016946","title":"Free Lunch","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead of giving him lunch money, Rex's mum has signed him up for free meals. As a poor kid in a wealthy school district, better-off kids crowd impatiently behind him as he tries to explain to the cashier that he's on the free meal programme. The lunch lady is hard of hearing, so Rex has to shout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFree Lunch\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of Rex's efforts to navigate his first semester of sixth grade—who to sit with, not being able to join the football team, Halloween in a handmade costume, classmates, and a teacher who take one look at him and decide he's trouble—all while wearing secondhand clothes and being hungry. His mum and her boyfriend are out of work, and life at home is punctuated by outbursts of violence. Halfway through the semester, his family is evicted and ends up in government-subsidised housing in view of the school. Rex lingers at the end of last period every day until the buses have left, so no one will see where he lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnsparing and realistic, \u003cem\u003eFree Lunch\u003c\/em\u003e is a story of hardship threaded with hope and moments of grace. Rex's voice is compelling and authentic, and \u003cem\u003eFree Lunch\u003c\/em\u003e is a true, timely, and essential work that illuminates the lived experience of poverty in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46995299795180,"sku":"9781324016946","price":37.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10853853482659.jpg?v=1763108801","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/products\/free-lunch-by-rex-ogle-9781324016946","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}