Invisible Child

Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City

By: Andrea Elliott

Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo

Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A “vivid and devastating” (The New York Times) portrait of an indomitable girl—from acclaimed journalist Andrea Elliott

“From its first indelible pages to its rich and startling conclusion, Invisible Child had me, by turns, stricken, inspired, outraged, illuminated, in tears, and hungering for reimmersion in its Dickensian depths.”—Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Atlantic, The New York Times Book Review, Time, NPR, Library Journal

In Invisible Child, Pulitzer Prize winner Andrea Elliott follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani, a girl whose imagination is as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn shelter. In this sweeping narrative, Elliott weaves the story of Dasani’s childhood with the history of her ancestors, tracing their passage from slavery to the Great Migration north. As Dasani comes of age, New York City’s homeless crisis has exploded, deepening the chasm between rich and poor. She must guide her siblings through a world riddled by hunger, violence, racism, drug addiction, and the threat of foster care. Out on the street, Dasani becomes a fierce fighter “to protect those who I love.” When she finally escapes city life to enroll in a boarding school, she faces an impossible question: What if leaving poverty means abandoning your family, and yourself?

A work of luminous and riveting prose, Elliott’s Invisible Child is like a novel. It is an astonishing story about the power of resilience, the importance of family and the cost of inequality—told through the crucible of one remarkable girl.

Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize • Finalist for the Bernstein Award and the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award

©2021 Andrea Elliott (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A vivid and devastating story of American inequality.”—The New York Times

“A classic to rank with Orwell.”—The Sunday Times

“Andrea Elliott’s Invisible Child swept me away. Filled with unexpected twists and turns, Dasani’s journey kept me up nights reading. Elliott spins out a deeply moving story about Dasani and her family, whose struggles underscore the stresses of growing up poor and Black in an American city, and the utter failure of institutions to extend a helping hand. Invisible Child is a triumph.”—Alex Kotlowitz, bestselling author of There Are No Children Here

Superlative reporting, Heartrending story telling

In Andrea Elliott’s reporting, Dasani and her family come to life. I fell in love with that smart, proud, sassy, loving girl, and will root for her success always. Her family may have left something to be desired, but there are no perfect families. This is the human side of racism, poverty, and addiction. I feel like sending this book to Mitch McConnell.
I must also praise the voice actor. She adopted different voices for each family member. How she kept them straight is beyond me. I will buy this book to have as a future reference, but I feel I got more from this Audible version than I could from the written one, due to the excellence of the narrator.

Saga of a Poor Urban Family

Ugh. You don't wanna be poor. Elliot tracks a homeless family of 8 struggling to survive in New York City. The author follows the family for nearly a decade giving the reader a detailed account of daily life in trying to raise a family if you're homeless in urban America. I lwas given an insider's view of the welfare system or "safety net." I saw the influences of addiction but moreso the influence of a culture that leads to addiction and incarceration and perpetuates the poverty cycle. I was introduced to many of the players that make up the assistance culture which included teachers, lawyers, psychologists and government functionaries, some good and some not so good, some fantastically influential and some fully incompetent.

The book was very long and very detailed but not boring and well written and extremely educational. You'll never look at a homeless person in the same way and your understanding of "the system" will improve. I think it's a vital read for anyone wishing to help anyone.

Worth the Pulitzer I believe it won

(Though Audible seems to bury the fact of excellence awards….) Extended 8 year report on a girl, her homeless NYC family of parents and siblings and the city systems that try to and often fail to serve them. It goes beyond what one might think is the Golden Ticket Out and a happy ending to a different and pretty happy ending or pause years later. It’s a long realistic road with a number of likabley people.

A must read (listen)

Eye opener of a book. My heart ached for Dasani and her family as their parents do the best they can given the circumstances they were born into.

Review of an amazing family

I liked that it was not rushed, it was thorough, it built many scenes which added a sense of dignity.

Love

I love this book will most definitely recommend this is a some reality 4 u

Everyone should listen to this book

This book opened my eyes in ways I didn’t realize they needed to be. I’m grateful I found it.

Narration is completely over the top

This might be a great book (the Times series was very well reported, if self-righteous) but it’s hard to tell through the highly affected, grating narration. The reader delivers every line either like she’s smugly lobbing the final riposte in an argument, or like she’s trying to weave a magical fantasy yarn for children. It’s tough to take. Her acting of Dasani’s voice literally made me cringe. It’s just a completely unnatural, distracting, and unpleasant narration style.

Invisible Child and The Warmth of Other Suns should be essential reading

Eye-opening book 1) for a white woman who has been insulated from the harsh realities of poverty, homelessness, living with parents with substance abuse issues, etc etc etc; and 2) a New Yorker (for a stint in my life) who only ever really knew car service, dinner reservations, museums, how much to tip your dog walker and building’s doormen. Of course someone who lives in NYC for however long will see glimpses into the city’s homelessness when you pass someone on the sidewalk or on a subway platform, but most (including myself) do their best to avert their gaze and hurry by. This book was incredibly informative of how the city’s homeless shelter center works, how other governmental agencies zig and zag across all facets life, and how nearly impossible it is to break free from the cycle of generational poverty. I highly recommend as companion reading material The Warmth of Other Suns, which examines the Great Migration, in which 6 million black people left the south from 1915-1970 for northern cities in search of a better life. TWOOF covers many obstacles and hardships (all due to racism) of black WWII veterans and the rise of urban poor problems that afflicted black communities for generations (crack, teen pregnancies). TWOOF leaves off off about where this book’s main character’s own family history begins, with a (great-grandfather?) WWII veteran that was dishonorably discharged and who had excellent job skills (mechanic, if memory serves) acquired serving in the war that could have well provided for his young family, but he was prohibited from joining the city’s union because he was black. He ended up sweeping floors, succumbed to alcoholism, his own hungry children on the streets during the rise of crack, and so the cycle of poverty continued until we reach Dasani. Anyway, highly recommend both of these books. PS the reader does an incredible job changing her voice to so many different characters, and really catching what feels like each of their personalities.

Surprisingly uplifting

I was afraid this book would be depressing when my book club chose it. But it was compelling and engaging, although it exposes many discouraging aspects of current social welfare systems.