
Free Lunch
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Narrated by:
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Ramon De Ocampo
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By:
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Rex Ogle
About this listen
A distinctive new voice: Rex Ogle's story of starting middle school on the free lunch program is timely, heartbreaking, and true. Free Lunch is the story of Rex Ogle's first semester in sixth grade. Rex and his baby brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes, and were short of school supplies, and Rex was on his school's free lunch program. Grounded in the immediacy of physical hunger and the humiliation of having to announce it every day in the school lunch line, Rex's is a compelling story of a more profound hunger - that of a child for his parents' love and care.
Compulsively listenable, beautifully crafted, and authentically told with the voice and point of view of a sixth-grade kid, Free Lunch is a remarkable debut by a gifted storyteller.
©2019 Rex Ogle (P)2019 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Outstanding, gracious writing and a clear eye for the penetrating truth. A mighty portrait of poverty amid cruelty and optimism.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)
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- By: Jeffrey Sachs
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hilgartner
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Hailed by Time as one of the world's hundred most influential people, Jeffrey D. Sachs is renowned for his work around the globe advising economies in crisis. Now a classic of its genre, The End of Poverty distills more than 30 years of experience to offer a uniquely informed vision of the steps that can transform impoverished countries into prosperous ones. Sachs lays out a clear conceptual map of the world economy. In this 10th anniversary edition, Sachs presents an extensive new foreword assessing the progress of the past decade.
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A Call for Africa
- By Mr Conway on 08-03-12
By: Jeffrey Sachs
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Four Eyes
- Four Eyes, Book 1
- By: Rex Ogle
- Narrated by: Benjamin Valic
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Sixth grade isn't as great as Rex thought it would be. He's the only kid who hasn't had a growth spurt, and the bullies won't let him forget it. His closest friend is unreliable, at best. And there's a cute girl in his class who he can't stop thinking about. With so much going on, everything is a blur—including Rex's vision! So when he discovers that he needs glasses, and his family can only afford the ugliest pair in the store, any hope Rex had of fitting in goes completely out of focus.
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The story was really interesting
- By Jennifer Kilpela on 02-25-25
By: Rex Ogle
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Orbiting Jupiter
- By: Gary D. Schmidt
- Narrated by: Christopher Gebauer
- Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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The two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at 13, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter. After spending time in a juvenile facility, he's placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine. Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets 12-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost. In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires.
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Crushingly beautiful
- By M. on 03-20-16
By: Gary D. Schmidt
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Ungifted
- By: Gordon Korman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross, Richard Poe, Erin Moon, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Teens and pre-teens flock to any new offering from New York Times best-selling author Gordon Korman. Told through multiple viewpoints, Ungifted follows Donovan Curtis through his year at a magnet school for gifted and talented kids. Thanks to an administrative foul-up, the decidedly mediocre student Donovan finds himself enrolled in the Academy of Scholastic Distinction. Out of place and out of luck, Donovan joins the robotics team. And while he learns a few lessons from his gifted classmates, he also teaches a few of his own.
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Ungifted: One of the best books I have ever read in my life
- By Kindle Customer on 03-16-17
By: Gordon Korman
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Now That You Mention It
- By: Kristan Higgins
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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It's been over a decade since Nora left her hometown of Scupper Island, Maine, and very seldom looked back. She's carved out a successful life in Boston, where no one knows her as the awkward girl with the delinquent sister and the dad who left, but a not-as-dramatic-as-it-sounds brush with death has her taking stock of her life. Inspired to reconnect with her prickly mother and snarky teenage niece, Nora returns home for the summer, where she's forced to face the people she's spent the last ten years trying to avoid.
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Trigger warning needed
- By Kindle Customer on 02-16-18
By: Kristan Higgins
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Linked
- By: Gordon Korman
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris, Christopher Gebauer, Maxwell Glick, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Link, Michael, and Dana live in a quiet town. But it's woken up very quickly when someone sneaks into school and vandalizes it with a swastika. Nobody can believe it. How could such a symbol of hate end up in the middle of their school? Who would do such a thing? Because Michael was the first person to see it, he's the first suspect. Because Link is one of the most popular guys in school, everyone's looking to him to figure it out. And because Dana's the only Jewish girl in the whole town, everyone's treating her more like an outsider than ever.
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it is amazing I loved it
- By kdwatkins66 on 02-14-22
By: Gordon Korman
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The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
- By: Karina Yan Glaser
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It's practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have 11 days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded Beiderman just how wonderful they are. And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home. A modern classic in the making reminiscent of the Penderwicks series.
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I really like it!
- By Joy Faber on 10-24-21
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Greenglass House
- By: Kate Milford
- Narrated by: Ben Levin
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and 12-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again....
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A magical mystery with twists and heart
- By Jane Pearl on 02-13-22
By: Kate Milford
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Ghost
- By: Jason Reynolds
- Narrated by: Guy Lockard
- Length: 3 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team - a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.
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Beautifully Written, Unique Storyline, Many Lessons
- By Diana Cherry on 07-02-17
By: Jason Reynolds
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Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World
- By: Scott McCormick
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Samantha Turret, Khristine Hvam, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Did you know that most of our dinosaur fossils were discovered because two grown men absolutely hated each other? It’s true! Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World is a riotous audio exclusive, like if Monty Python taught your history class. Each volume of four 30-minute histories will dig into the petty name-calling and grumbling grudges that led to many of the world’s greatest advancements, all delivered with a cheeky sense of humor. Choose sides: Cope or Marsh, the jerks who discovered so many dinosaurs; Hamilton or Burr, whose rivalry fueled American politics; and many more....
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Warning for parents...
- By Jetjaguar15 on 07-08-19
By: Scott McCormick
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
- By: Kelly Barnhill
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Every year the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.
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Wonderful, Delightful, Engaging
- By Tom on 08-31-17
By: Kelly Barnhill
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Readers Edition)
- By: William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.
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if You Try, You Can Do Anything!
- By Customer789 on 04-14-24
By: William Kamkwamba, and others
What listeners say about Free Lunch
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- Claudia M
- 11-10-23
Narrator was awesome
His voice and accent changes were effective. Each character has their own tone. Brought the story together.
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1 person found this helpful
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- J. Welker
- 08-12-24
Grown-up, sad/emotional, beautiful
I haven't enjoyed such a well-written book in years. I cried a lot. Such a talented author.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-05-24
the narrative was amazing
This story really guided you through the perspective of a child trying to do better than his parents and living in poverty and the feelings this bring out. It's my favorite read of 2024
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- Sherry Meyer
- 08-16-24
The content.
The truth and transparency touched on the life many of us do not see or are conscious of. The struggles of the poor are sad.
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- R Scott Bailey
- 07-21-21
This is about as real as you can get
So much truth in what some of my students have gone through. I always have hope that their lives not as hard as Rex's. Worth it to get a grasp of the students that most people do not want to think about.
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2 people found this helpful
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- brian
- 02-02-22
Eye-opening.
Coming from a very middle class background, I haven't encountered students in a situation like Rex had, not that I can recall, anyway. Ramon's narration is, as usual, spot-on, hitting all the right emotional notes and voices for different sequences. This book truly shows that some have it worse off than others, and some take that for granted.
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- matthew heartfield
- 10-05-23
Amazing
This book was a pleasant reminder of an unpleasant past. My youth was very similar to Rex’s and I absolutely love this book.
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- Jacob
- 04-14-24
Rex’s heartbreaking reality 💔
This book was so honest. He didn’t sugarcoat it. Just told the truth of what he dealed with. No child should have to endure that. But Rex didn’t let that affect the way he treated people. He may have yelled at his mom but compared to what she and her husband did to him. That was nothing. I admire how he still showed compassion toward his mom even after all she did to him. And what a great brother he was to Ford. I hope everything worked out in the end ❤️
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- Nikky
- 05-10-24
Sad, heartwarming, and real
This story is real. Sometimes life isn’t fair and listening to this story from Rex’s point of view is sad but heartwarming as well as he grows in understanding.
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- Marie
- 11-13-24
Perfect
Should be required reading for all teens and pre-teens! Heartbreaking and accurate description of living in poverty in the USA as a child. My favorite quote was “Being poor in this country is like--like starving at an all-you-can-eat buffet. You can see all of this food piled high, but you can't have any of it. It's just out of reach. Like everything else. Jobs. Houses. The things you see in TV commercials. It's all a pipe dream for people like us. It's all window-shopping. The grocery stores, the malls, the car lots everywhere. It's all luxury, and people don't realize how lucky they are if they can afford any of it. We know, because we can't have any of it. No matter how hard we work, we'll never have money like the people at the top. We work just as hard as they do. Harder sometimes. But we'll never make the money they make. The system is broke.” Rex Ogle’s Free Lunch is perfect.
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