Made in the U.S.A. [Hardcover]

Billie Letts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 2008

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Letts's tale of two children who set out on a voyage to find their father after his hefty ex-girlfriend, the children's guardian, falls dead in a Wal-Mart, is a moving coming-of-age tale. Cassandra Morris is amazingly strong in her delivery, giving a tremendous performance in which her fresh voice is perfectly suited for 15-year old Lutie. Her reading is clear and well paced, and her habit of rushing her words at times serves as an endearing character trait; she can do no wrong here. Her performance is a genuine one that will move audiences with its honesty and passion. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 28). (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—After the sudden death of Floy, her father's 300-pound girlfriend, 15-year-old Lutie McFee flees Spearfish, SD, with her 11-year-old brother, Fate. With only an apartment address to guide them, the siblings head toward Las Vegas in Floy's Pontiac, in search of the father they haven't seen or heard from in a year. Lutie's defiant personality lands the pair in a number of dangerous and precarious situations. However, her equally dominant determination drives her to do almost anything to protect her intellectual and withdrawn brother. When she is almost beaten to death during a robbery, a mysterious protector, Juan Vargas, comes to their aid. After getting medical treatment for her, Juan transports Lutie and Fate to his hometown in Hugo, OK. While Fate discovers a world of wonder and happiness, Lutie struggles to accept the support that is being offered to her. The ending, while unlikely, is satisfying and emotionally rewarding. Teens will immediately be drawn into the story by Lutie's feisty personality as well as the adventure, and ultimate hardship, of living by your wits. Recommend this one to those who enjoy gutsy protagonists, gritty plotlines, and fairy-tale endings.—Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (June 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044652901X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446529013
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful story, June 6, 2008

By 

Ann Margaret "cover to cover" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Made in the U.S.A. (Audio CD)

You will not get anything done for a few days because you will not be able to put this book down! You will get attached to these young characters who are trying to figure this adult world out alone. They make bad choices and you will be rooting for them page after page hoping someone will help them find their way. You won't be dissappointed. Just forget about the laundry for a few days. (and the dishes, homework, phone calls, husband, children) Just keep reading.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not her best, July 29, 2008

By 

BeachReader (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Made in the U.S.A. (Hardcover)

This book was just "okay". I am still waiting for Letts to write another book as good as "The Honk and Holler Opening Soon" which I think was her best ever.

The first half of this book took place in Las Vegas and was pretty sleazy. Many of the things that happened there required a suspension of belief, something I do not readily do.

The book moved a little more easily once Letts returned to her familiar turf (Oklahoma). There was some interesting trivia about how a circus is run and what happens in the winter on its home grounds. But there was way too much coincidence for my liking.

I finished it because it was quick reading, but this will definitely not go down as my favorite Letts book. Also, the editing was very lax, something that annoys me a lot. But her husband died during this book's publication process, so perhaps her editor was being gentle....

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting character driven contemporary tale, June 8, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Made in the U.S.A. (Hardcover)

In Spearfish, South Dakota, with their mother long dead, the McFee siblings teenage Lutie and preadolescent Fate live with three hundred plus pounds Floy Satterfield; their runaway father's former girlfriend. However, their lives take a spin when their guardian drops dead at the local megastore. Lutie, who enjoys shoplifting for fun ever since she was booted from the high school gymnastics team due to unfair influences, persuades her eleven year old brother to give up the TV shows and global warming because they have two choices: flee in Floy's ancient car or allow the state to place them. They decide to find their wastrel dad whose last known address is Las Vegas with no further specificity except some dive hotel.

In Las Vegas, they begin to learn nasty truths re their father and prison, and where he might be; which if true will prove he is beyond their reach. Fifteen year old Lutie obtains fake working papers and dead-end jobs so she and her brother have food and shelter of sorts. However, increasingly their choices seem to be foster care or the street sharks including avaricious child molesters, rapists, drug addicts and other abusers. However, former aerialist Juan Vargas "adopts" the pair as his redemption and takes them to his family in Oklahoma where they run the Vargas Brothers Circus. Juan carries guilt, but his grandma has love for all three seemingly losers that might help each find sanctuary if they reach out to her and one another.

Although at times diving too deep into soap opera territory, MADE IN THE U.S.A. is an interesting character driven contemporary tale that argues it takes a village to raise children. Readers will feel for the McFee sibs, who are neglected while their guardian lived and after she dies make questionable decisions more out of fear. What happens to them especially Lutie in Vegas shows the real sinful underbelly of the city. Although Oklahoma turns out to perfect to be realistic, fans will soar with Lutie, play trivia with Fate and hope Juan forgives himself as they with grandma try to become a family.

Harriet Klausner