A Gripping Tale of Two Brothers Navigating Adolescence in Poverty-Stricken America: 'There Are No Children Here'

Kindle Customer: It brings to light the problems in the poorer communities, very good book

United States on Nov 05, 2023

Nicholas J: I got this for my sociology class and man does this really pull at your heart strings! The things these poor kids face. So sad. Definitely a must read! Got this in the Kindle App and it was excellent quality, glad I paid extra for the voices version as well.

United States on Oct 16, 2023

smlwoman: I found this book at a thrift store. After reading it and seeing what kind of my teens were reading for school I bought this o e for my son’s history teacher. The socio economical issues as well as the way minorities were held back due to finances is pretty eye opening. It’s a true story and an update on the boys as young adults/teens are available at the end of the book and online. Great book to be added to history and English classes.

United States on Jul 06, 2023

RC: The book follows a 2-3 year period of the the Rivers’ family’s lives in Henry Horner projects in Chicago. Neighborhood children are killed or raised in horrible conditions. Buildings unkept with vermin and violence everywhere. I’ve seen and read depictions of project life in other works but this book takes the cake. It really outlines how the system failed these people; the courts, the police, the housing authority, the contractors, the welfare office, etc. and the community itself. You notice the physical and psychological effects of this on the kids and their families and the neighborhood alike. I read this book rather quickly because the stories were so gripping. I can’t begin to imagine living a life like they did and I found myself rooting for the family at every turn. Amazing book and lots of context about Chicago in the 1960s-1980s so the reader understands why things are that way in the book. I’d stay away if you’re easily affected by violence though because this is an extremely detailed book. Maybe that’s important to understand the dire circumstances these kids were in though…

United States on Jan 26, 2023

Jojobaby2727: Amazing book, definitely a must read. It is very captivating. Life of inner city youth. Enjoyet it, even though i read it for school.

Canada on Jun 17, 2017

L. Kelly: An absolutely stunning book that focuses on inner-city poverty in Chicago's projects.

I was worried that the age of the book (1980s) would badly date it, but the fear was unfounded - it's still as relevant now as it ever was.

This book never lingers in sentimental schmaltz or attempts to romanticise the lives that the people endure. This is straight forward reportage that has all the force of a sledgehammer.

United Kingdom on Sep 30, 2016

Mireille PRODEAU: Reading is so compelling that one would like to know what happened to these two children after the author published the book: did the city change something to their lives and to that of so many more like them?

France on Mar 21, 2016

waterfall: Amazing book, could not put it down, annoyed work kept getting in the way. Took my ipad with me everywhere so I could read at every opportunity.

United Kingdom on Mar 10, 2015

Nada Johnson: It was a good book!

Canada on Aug 23, 2014

Firestarter: This book is shocking, troubling, disgusting, and heartbreaking.

The author of this book follows two black boys who live in poverty in a crime ridden housing project in 1980s Chicago. Readers are left to feel sympathy for these children, who not for the stupidity and selfishness of their parents, might have otherwise grown up in a decent neighborhood with better opportunities.

While readers are left morning the lost lives of these children you cannot help but feel contempt for their parents (plural). Their mother began having children while she was young (14 to be exact). She raises her children in the SAME housing project where she grew up. In fact, it is the ONLY place she has ever lived. She has several children by the same man, who would rather shoot a needle in his arm, than use his modest (but good) paycheck to get his family out of the ghetto (and yes, he made enough money to purchase a modest home in a suburban community). His relationship with his children and their mother is that of a homeless person who is allowed to crash on a relative's sofa ever so often. He comes and goes as if he doesn't have any responsibility. The only real glimpse we get into his...

United States on Aug 12, 2014