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Making Manna
by
Libby Thompson is just fourteen years old when she flees her abusive home with her newborn son, Angel. Now they must build a life for themselves on hard work and low wages, dealing with police who are sometimes helpful-but not always-and a drug dealer who is full of surprises. As Angel gets older, he begins asking questions about his family, and Libby's tenuous peace threa
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Paperback, 294 pages
Published
June 20th 2014
by Brandylane Publishers, Inc.
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Making Manna is one of those rare books that draws you in and doesn't let you go. From the very start, you're immersed into a story that is jarring and unnerving, yet honest, raw, and authentic. It challenges everything you know and takes you on a journey of life below the poverty line.
Living for a year or so in Arlington, VA and walking past the service workers on my way to the metro as they packed their supplies into vans filled with other workers, the setting makes the story. Through the cha ...more
Living for a year or so in Arlington, VA and walking past the service workers on my way to the metro as they packed their supplies into vans filled with other workers, the setting makes the story. Through the cha ...more
To be honest, I really could not remember why I wanted to read this book after I got it. In fact, I put it aside with lackluster interest. Yet, when I picked it up I again had my mind made up instantly that I was not going to like this book at all. Wow, you really can not judge a book by its cover.
From the beginning I was drawn into the story and Libby. She is a fighter. She proves it over and over again. There was never a moment where she sat in sorrow and had people going "poor Libby". In fac ...more
From the beginning I was drawn into the story and Libby. She is a fighter. She proves it over and over again. There was never a moment where she sat in sorrow and had people going "poor Libby". In fac ...more
Beautiful book. I loved the characters. I want a sequel.
Survival is intrinsic to human nature
This is a story, although about very simple people in dire circumstances, that drew me in until I couldn’t release the book until I finished it. There are only a few people in this world with the strength to fight to survive like Libby Thompson who is just fourteen years old when she bears an illegitimate son at home. Her mother is the midwife and keeps asking Libby who the father is and Libby won’t answer her, but after the baby boy is born, and her father c ...more
This is a story, although about very simple people in dire circumstances, that drew me in until I couldn’t release the book until I finished it. There are only a few people in this world with the strength to fight to survive like Libby Thompson who is just fourteen years old when she bears an illegitimate son at home. Her mother is the midwife and keeps asking Libby who the father is and Libby won’t answer her, but after the baby boy is born, and her father c ...more
A solid, well written, interesting story about what it's really like to grow up poor in America.
I liked it! What's great about this book is that it's not about the rich and famous, nor is it about the average American. This book helps us to see some of the cruel hypocracies of our justice system and to understand how good people can find themselves in very bad situations. The grit is very real. These protagonists are not people one would normally sympathize with - a drug dealer? It's a beautuful ...more
I liked it! What's great about this book is that it's not about the rich and famous, nor is it about the average American. This book helps us to see some of the cruel hypocracies of our justice system and to understand how good people can find themselves in very bad situations. The grit is very real. These protagonists are not people one would normally sympathize with - a drug dealer? It's a beautuful ...more
Just finished, Making Manna Eric Lotke. One of the best books I've read this year! This book schooled me in regards to life lived in poverty. What an excellent educational tool. This should be on the required reading list of every middle/high school in America.
Making Manna had me at "hello". It is a fantastic story from the opening line. Mr. Lotke does a fantastic job of character development, and story telling. I'd highly recommend this book!
Another book club choice
I really enjoyed this book. So many challenges. yet they persevered. Family reconciliation, Manna from heaven, Libby going to college, so many good things.
I really enjoyed this book. So many challenges. yet they persevered. Family reconciliation, Manna from heaven, Libby going to college, so many good things.
I was immediately drawn to the absolutely glittering prose in the first few lines of MAKING MANNA. And how I ached for the young girl giving birth in those opening pages. Something was decidedly "not right."
Within mere *pages,* we learn so much (I don't want to give it away here), but the pace is impeccable, covering a wide range of events and time.
Utlimately, MAKING MANNA is a story of courage, of the cruel hypocrisies of the justice system, about good people in harsh circumstances all agains ...more
Within mere *pages,* we learn so much (I don't want to give it away here), but the pace is impeccable, covering a wide range of events and time.
Utlimately, MAKING MANNA is a story of courage, of the cruel hypocrisies of the justice system, about good people in harsh circumstances all agains ...more
I thought I would read a chapter of Making Manna before sleeping but thirteen chapters later I was reluctant to close the book. It was only my aching eyes that made me stop. Eric Lotke is a master writer of character and situation. Not only do you care for these people, but you cringe and curse and cheer as they struggle through overwhelming events. This book is based on Lotke’s own experiences with the justice system and people struggling to survive in a cold, unfair, and prejudiced environment
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In this beautifully written novel, a too-young mother called Libby needs a place to stay and a job –not easy without proof of citizenship and age. And next she needs food. Some fascinating lessons ensue on American poverty and the poverty of its legal system. But this is a novel that never stops too long to mourn, moving always forward with its characters ever determined, taking the positive road and living convincingly with pains of the past. It’s a fast-moving, absorbing tale, its voices, youn
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Eric Lotke's novel successfully balances two things that would each seem difficult for a story to carry off. The characters are such good people. Angel is such an angel--seemingly without a thought of malice or avarice. Libby is prone to anger, but also amazingly patient and loving. Even far less likeable characters end up redeemed. I would have thought that such goodness might seem shallow or unrealistic, but it isn't because it coexists with the unsettlingly awful events that the book begins w
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Being faith-based people, we often say that God writes straight with crooked lines. After reading Making Manna, we would add that author Eric Lotke also writes straight with crooked lines. The main characters start off with incredible odds against being successful in life.
But, with steadfastness and bonding with others more or less "in the same boat", they emerge as role models for those in similar circumstances.
This is why as co-founders of an international prison reform organization, we have m ...more
But, with steadfastness and bonding with others more or less "in the same boat", they emerge as role models for those in similar circumstances.
This is why as co-founders of an international prison reform organization, we have m ...more
This book was quick to read and superbly written. This book echoes so many thing from our every day lives, yet the characters are extraordinary. I was reminded of this book just the other day when visiting the Natural History Smithsonian museum. And then again when helping kids make a power point presentation. Lotke weaves these "i've been there!" scenes into something new and miraculous.
I read this book on a flight from east to west coast and the journey has never gone faster. The characters draw you in right from the start and you keep hoping that all will go well for them eventually. None of them are angels -- they are real people coping with real problems as best they can. The book also paints a vivid picture of our criminal justice system and all that is wrong with it but the message never overwhelms the characters or the story. A great read!
Interesting story -- covers the life of a sexually abused 14 year old for the next 18 years. The writing was not spectacular, but the plot was interesting enough to keep me engaged. There were several aspects that I found not quite believable, and some plot lines a little trite, but over all a decent read.
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Eric Lotke has cooked in five-star restaurants and flushed every toilet in the Washington D.C. jail. He has filed headline lawsuits and published headline research on crime, prisons and sex offenses. His latest book, Making Manna, is an uplifting tale of triumph over economic and criminal injustice.
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Contemporary young adult literature has often led the way in depicting the real-life issues facing teens from all backgrounds. To delve into ho...
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