INVISIBLE CHILD Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City

This audiobook generates so many emotions--outrage, disbelief, shame, frustration, and, occasionally, hope--but narrator Adenrele Ojo, with her rich voice and impeccable pacing, navigates us through them. We meet Dasani when she is 11 years old and living in a moldy, overcrowded, and dangerous New York City shelter with her parents and seven siblings. NEW YORK TIMES reporter Andrea Elliott's research explores the discrimination in employment and housing experienced by Dasani's ancestors; the addiction struggles of Dasani's parents; the innate intellect of Dasani herself, which is held back by societal and personal challenges; and the often inexplicable and maddening bureaucratic decisions within the child welfare system. Ojo maintains the flow and never falters in distinguishing between the author's narrative and the authentic speech of the myriad characters. A.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2021]