Stacey A. (starfkr) reviewed on 12/8/2008 + 53 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the idea of the book is an excellent one. Not only should it be required reading for all high school students but it also provides good insight to those who have had the good fortune not to be a low-wage earner trying to get by on a meager income. When reading the book I started to do the math on how little a minimum wage job really pays. There was a time I worked those jobs (while in college) but I never had to rely on them to raise a family and support a household. I don't see how it would be possible to do so in the current economy here in Los Angeles. It was a real eye-opener for me.

On the other hand, the writer was so biased in her writing that it really ruined the second half of the book for me. Instead of a factual account, she writes the book almost from this ivory tower perspective that I found not only annoying but insulting. The writer is an academic who is outraged by the very idea of having to do *real* work. Look, I have an advanced degree too but I don't feel like I'm too good to get my hands dirty if need be - that's life! I found her tone to be one of condesending pity and by the end of the book I was ready to throw it through the window - and I'm a socially liberal Democrat. I say, read this book with a critical eye and you will get a lot of benefit out of it.

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