Paper Things

By: Jenifer Richard Jacobson
Location: FIC JAC
Genre: Homelessness - tough stuff to deal with in life!

First there was Paper Towns, then there was Paper Planes and now there is Paper Things!!

When forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, Ari chose her big brother. There’s just one problem—Gage doesn’t actually have a place to live.

"Twenty-six cents won't get you much, but a library card will. A library card can let you borrow books, an MP3 player, and movies, or download materials on a computer but you need to have an address to get a library card, and homeless people don't have addresses."

I have seen homelessness- it is heart breaking. Walking past men, woman and children who have hopes and dreams just like I do- but they sleep on a cold pavement sheltered by the rain by a meagre overhang, while I sleep in my soft memory foam bed heated by an electric blanket. Homelessness = disempowerment. Homelessness = a daily battle for meaning and hope. In this story you are made to go face to face with homelessness and if you have a heart you will discover an empathy for the journey of Ari and Gage- if you have no empathy- make sure you stay on your memory foam bed and never travel into the real world- you would be no use!

Patty from Goodreads.com reviewed has book

This book is a treasure. If ever I was unmindful of how difficult it would be to not have a home? This book brings it home. Some nights Ari and Gage stay with friends...some nights it's a shelter...once it was a car...another time another homeless friend...let them stay in his storage container. Ari tries her best to hide the fact that her clothes are spotted, wrinkled and dirty. Her hair is greasy. She is hungry, tired and losing her status at school. She was always the smart kid...when she hears a former friend say that she is smelly...OMG...my heart broke.
What I loved best...
The writing of this author is simply beautiful. She has captured Ari perfectly. Everyone seems to be trying to help Ari in sweetly subtle ways...an orange in her backpack, a new pair of shoes from a kind teacher, special help from a gentle librarian. I must say this again...Ari is the heart and soul of this book.
What potential readers might want to know...
My eyes filled with tears at various parts of this beautiful story. Life...real life and all of its ugly parts as well as lovely parts are told in a way that makes this book real...not ugly real...but real. This is a very special book. I loved every word