Thank you for the free book, @randomhouse!

Through immersive journalism, Sandler followed Camila, a brand-new mother who is homeless in New York. Camila is resourceful and knows all the ins-and-outs of the government systems that are in place to help the homeless population, but as she continually finds out, there's more red tape at every turn. She spends hours, days, and weeks just trying to find the answers she needs to secure a home for her and her son, only to be turned down because she lacks a simple document.

She wants a better life for her and her son, but our government programs do not make it easy, even for a motivated person. Parts of this book really reminded me of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land. She was also highly motivated and well-versed in the system, yet found poverty a hard hole to dig out of.

Lauren Sandler did a great job of providing the story of Camila and her son, Alonso, while also giving the reader facts and information about the current homeless crisis in New York.

Camila is a "character" that is so easy to like as you struggle through along with her. The author does an excellent job of portraying the difficulties of "professional distance" between journalist and subject. It makes you want to both rescue and lecture the poor girl with all the tools, but none of the support she needs to get where she has the potential to go.

This book is a real eye-opener and everyone could benefit from reading it. It is a smooth read and follows the life of a young mother as she attempts to navigate the system in New York City. Her attempts to ensure housing and food for herself and her child are filled with stumbling blocks and the reader gets a very personal view of just how broken our system is. Where do we go from here?

A heart wrenching eye opening look at the life of a young mother Camila caught in poverty living in a shelter .Camila is a bright strong young mother caring for her child trying to find housing ;daycare food.Mostly abandoned by her birth family she mother’s her child goes to school constantly going to welfare offices looking for shelter.
The author meets her at the shelter and forms a connection with her becomes like family to her introduces her to her husband and child who also embrace he.r The author follows along to all the appointments is there to observe her day to day experiences.
This is not a fairytale she does not have the perfect ending.I could not stop reading this involving real life exposee of a life in the welfare system. # netgalley#randomhouse