Made in the U.S.A.

Made in the U.S.A.

by Billie Letts

I selected this book to read because the picture on the front reminded me of childhood evenings. To be honest, I didn’t even read the synopsis on the dust jacket flap.

The story starts out interesting enough, two children at Wal-Mart with their father’s girlfriend - the father long gone, the mother dead. The girlfriend dies at the checkout and now the kids are left on their own. Fearful that they will be sent to different foster homes, even though the oldest is only 15 with a learner’s permit, they take off in the girlfriend’s car to look for their dad.

After about three-four chapters I was close to giving up on this book. After all there are thousands of books out there waiting to be read, why waste time on one I’m not in love with. But I’m tenacious and by the time I got that far, I’d already read the front cover that said the book was by Billie Letts, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, so I thought I’d give it a chance.

About half-way through, I thought of putting it down again - the children's experiences were just a little out there and it was getting depressing. Then their “guardian angel” showed up.

Maybe someone else would enjoy this book more than I did. I found the girl’s attitude a little much and then the ending explanation just not quite enough.