Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake

Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake was published in 2001. This high interest low Lexile book is great for reluctant readers. Thirteen year-old Raspberry Hill is obsessed with making money because she and her mother were homeless and and now living precariously in a rough part of town.

Raspberry gets into trouble for her money making schemes. She is called greedy, but people don't understand her fear of homelessness. She understands that money is what will keep her and her mother safe, but not even her mother understands her quest to earn money. I love Raspberry's tenacity and work ethic. Her mother frustrated me, and I found her actions at times to be childish.

I liked the relationships and situations in the story and found them realistic. I also liked how Sharon G. Flake shows how hard it is to avoid misunderstandings when people don't communicate well.

This book is the first of two books. The second book is called Begging for Change and I will read it as I want to know what happens to Raspberry and her mother. I like books grab a reluctant reader's attention quickly and move them through the story. This slim volume has 188 pages with a lot of white space and short chapters. The font size is large, but a teen reader won't feel they are reading a baby book.

The cover on my book is different from this one, but both are attractive to teen readers.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

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