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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780446529013
ISBN number: 044652901X
Label: Grand Central Publishing
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: June 19, 2008
Publishing house: Grand Central Publishing
Sale Popularity Level: 10818
Studio: Grand Central Publishing
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Product Description:
The bestselling author of WHERE THE HEART IS returns with a heartrending tale of two children in search of a place to call home.
Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.
MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
I always enjoy all of Billie Letts books. This one was good from beginning to end.
Rated by buyers 
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I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the previous works of Bille Letts. Shoot the Moon, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, and Where is Heart is are among my favorite books over the past ten years. I can honestly say the same is not true of Billie's current book.
My primary complaint is that the characaters were not developed to their fullest. They were dull, negative, and depressing. At the end of the book there isn't a character that stands out as the hero or heroine.
From page 10, I just wanted the book to end. The plot is ridiculous, underdeveloped-a total waste of time.
Billie Letts has let her readers down.
Rated by buyers 
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The fact that Bille Letts has named her book "Made In The U.S.A." is something about which I gave little thought until I was reading the book for a second time. As she has done in the past, Ms Letts takes many elements of American culture and fuses them together to show that it's impossible to define what a real family is, that family values are consistently about respect, love and forgiveness and that the human spirit is stronger than the greatest evil.
This book begins with some pretty horrific situations and sadly none of them are so far fetched as to be unbelievable; any person with his ear to the track (even remotely) already knows that what our two central characters suffer from the moment they learn they're children on their own in the world and must run to(of all places) Las Vegas knows that there are stories far worse than this out there every day. in Vegas, the two children slowly begin to lose their souls until taken to safety by a man who is recovering from his own trauma. It's a rescue that comes just in the knick of time and there's a fair amount of violence, just like the real world. We're kept in suspense as they begin to find love and we see that there's the possibility to heal from trauma-not forget it, Billie Letts doesn't pander to us and we wouldn't buy it if she did, but trauma becomes a part of the love we have to offer. Billie Letts speaks a language and philosophy that makes us want to be better people. She understands our culture and is a wonderful philosopher for us.
And we are all part of the Country that makes up the United States of America. Ms Letts has never written a book I didn't read at least once, nor have I ever closed the last page without having grown from the experience. I have a feeling, however, that "Made in the U.S.A." is a novel that should be required reading for all politicians, all citizens who have children, teach children or are role models for children. (Thqat cover everyone? Think so) I'm not at all certain that it was President Bush's ruse regarding the Mexican immigrants and how his own family values are the only ones that he feels are appropriate that inspired Bille Letts to write "Made In the U.S.A." but she was certainly living in a country that was slowly deflating in every metaphoric way imaginable as she approached her word processor each morning, so that at the very least-sub textually-she was affected by it.
And so was I. In the midst of a time when I am disgusted by our world, Billie Letts reminds me that I should be proud of it instead. It's sincerely a beautiful place. This is a beautiful book.
Rated by buyers -
I would have an easier time believing that Novalee Nation could live, undetected, in WalMart until she delivered her baby than I could believing in these characters and their lives. There is no way that these two kids would have made it so long without being turned over to DCFS care - especially when an 11 year old boy is spending all day - for days - in a public library. How was it that no one picked up on the stolen car/plates? Why was Juan's English so inconsistent? How old WAS Mama, anyway? If Ray was almost 70, Mama would have had to be at least 85 - 90... isn't that pretty darn old for someone who crawls under a bed and whips a truck in front of a GTO to get Lutie out of a car?
To me, this was almost a big of letdown as the jump from The Secret Life of Bees to The Mermaid Chair!
Rated by buyers -
This was not what I expected. Billie Letts got pretty deep and harsh in telling of Fate and Lutie's time in Las Vegas. I read a couple reviews that talked about that part being "unrealistic" which I strongly disagree with. An 11 and 15 year old runaway would certainly have faced the hardships, predators and issues that the children did. While that whole section made me quite sad (and later I wanted shake some sense into Lutie for even thinking about going back) I thought it was handled well.
The Oklahoma section was well handled and certainly uplifting. While it may have ended a bit too cleanly, it left me feeling good, which is always a good way to end a reading experience!
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