Once You Know This

Without an ounce of self pity, Brittany Kowalski gives an unflinching description of her difficult life. She lives in Chicago with her mother, brother, and beloved great-grandmother, who suffers from dementia, in the home of Brittany's mom's abusive boyfriend. The family is under constant threat from his violent moods and from the toll taken by poor nutrition and cold. When her idealistic first-year teacher asks his students to imagine their futures, Brittany cannot see what's possible; she can only imagine what she doesn't want, which is to end up like her mother "on the street corner and at WIC for eternity." Her teacher suggests that she needs a plan, but Brittany can't even fathom how to make one. Still, she begins by recording thoughts and possible actions in a notebook stolen from the dollar store. What readers discover is a character whose self-determination and persistence create a possible way out of her crushing hardships. The portrait of poverty is heartbreaking, but Brittany's story is ultimately uplifting. An overreliance on metaphors about eyes ("cinnamon-and-raisin-toast eyes," "trapdoor eyes") is a flaw in the writing, but Brittany gives many readers a compassionate glimpse into their own near-desperate lives and offers others a window into a world they may not really have seen or understood. betty carter