Made in the U.S.A.

Made a reader out of me

I am not a reader. I have about a dozen half read books at home. Got this one for a road trip and could not put it down. hate to admit I related to the story a little bit. The author describes the characters so well I felt like I knew them. I wanted to live with the circus family. But I have no intentions of visiting Vegas. :)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another Great Book!

I just finished reading 'Made in the USA' and put it on the same pedestal as 'Where the Heart Is.' I have always found her books interesting and on a level that most people can relate to and enjoy. All of Ms. Letts' books have been very enjoyable! I've lived in Oklahoma all my life but have never been to Hugo however, it is now on my list of places to go--especially to the cemetery!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

interesting character driven contemporary tale

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

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book was great!

From the very beginning, I could not put this book down. I love her style and her characters come alive for me. Highly recommended! I hope she is in the process of writing another one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent!!!

I am a huuuge fan of Billie Letts. I've read all of her books and loved them all, but this one ties with Where the Heart Is as my favorite. It was darker and grittier than her other books but was so heartwarming and beautiful at the same time. Would highly recommend this book. I never wanted it to end and I know the characters will stick with me for a long time to come.

This was a good read.

Just finish this book. It was better than I thought it was going to be. Going to go see what I can read next.

Enjoyed!

It was kind of slow at first, but picked up. Overall I enjoyed it. It was a good short read.

rather trite, but entertaining nonetheless

I was disappointed in Made in the USA. I have read Honk and Holler Opening Soon more times than I can count and respect Billie Letts' talent for infusing her characters with an authentic voice. In H&HOS, people's problems don't magically evaporate with a kind word or psychological insight, yet they carry on - as real people sometimes can. Made in the USA ends like it was finished at 5 a.m. the morning of a deadline. The main character suddenly stops speaking like a teenager and more like ... well, I don't know anyone who speaks like that! BUT, I did read this book in two sittings, so I can't say it wasn't entertaining!

Touching

This was just a good story of a brother and sister left alone, from a rough family life, and believe they know how to find the American dream. They have nothing to lose, and you will be pulling for them to make it somehow, and hoping they find a family. Very good Billie Letts!

My favorite Billie Letts book!

I loved this! Great plot, had all , dramatic, tragic, touching, heart warming, and thrilling qualities. I hope to see it in film. It was hard reading the parts in Las Vegas, especially what happened to Lutie, but that is reallity. Hopefully this book will wake up some politicians to try to put an end to this. I felt the change from Vegas to the circus world helped bring it out of such a dark trend, to show there can be a light at the end of the tunnel.

A decent read

I found the characters a little one dimensional and predictable. I felt what each learns about what family means a redeeming aspect of the book. The story is engaging, though not one I couldn't put down. The author's question and answer section after the reading guide I found off-putting and actually took away from what was "learned" in the book. Overall, a decent read, but not a must read.

BILLIE DID IT AGAIN

I LOVE HER WRITING STYLE EVER SINCE I READ WHERE THE HEART IS.I WAS HOOKED.I HAVE READ ALL HER BOOKS.PLEASE BILLIE WRITE MORE.THIS BOOK WAS VERY GOOD I LOVED FOLLOWING THE STORY OF LUTIE AND FATE.

Better than Where the Heart is, but still not her best

Billie Letts has a flair for creating lovable, memorable characters and she does it again in Made in the USA, but I don't think it is her best novel.

The novel follows the charcters of Lutie and Fate Mcfee and their struggle for survival. They are american born and bred and have fallen upon hard times. They are now homeless, underage children trying to survive on the streets of Las Vegas. This part of the novel was wonderful. Even though we may cringe at the experiences and choices that Lutie makes, they are a realistic commentary about life on the American streets.

The part that I find a stretch, is when Lutie and Fate meet Juan. I don't think this part worked all that well even though I really like Juan and the characters that we are introduced through him. Can't go into detail without giving too much away and I hate when people do that. Let's just say I think it is an important aspect to the novel that Juan is not from America.

It was worth the read, but I still think Billie Lett's Honk and Holler is better.


More of my book reviews at www.dustjacketreview.com (sbarranca)

Not worth it.

Couldn't identify with the characters or story. They weren't likable main characters.

Disappointed

I love Billie Letts. I think she is a wonderful author, but I think she dropped the ball on this book. It is just ok. The characters are nothing special. In fact, I despised the main character and her selfish ways and was so glad when the story would focus on someone else. I really honestly hated some of the main characters. The ones I liked didn't come till later, and I almost gave up on the book before I got to them. The saving grace in the beginning is the the brother, Fate. If you love the down home, small town feel of Billie Letts books, then this is not for you. I will continue reading her books; I just hope none are ever as disappointing as this one.

Brought tears to my eyes

"Made in the USA" is a touching story about Lutie McFee and her brother Fate and how they try and survive in Las Vegas after the death of the woman who was taking care of them. Lutie thinks she knows all about how to endure the cruel world which is now her home. I have never any other books by Billie Letts, and am not going to let some of the negative reviews I have come across to affect my feelings. This story brought tears to my eyes, and I was rooting for the kids. Is it believable, maybe, maybe not? I just know that I loved the book.

BILLIE LETTS WRITES ANOTHER WINNER

MADE IN THR U.S.A.
Billie Letts
Grand Central Publishing
$13.99-Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-446-58345-2
384 pages
Reviewer: Annie Slessman

When Billie Letts wrote MADE IN THE U.S.A. she created two characters dear to our hearts, a young fifteen year old girl, Lutie, and her eleven year old brother, Fate. She places them in peril when their guardian (the girlfriend of their father) dies during a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. The father has since skipped town for Las Vegas and the children face being placed in a foster home. To avoid being possibly separated, Lutie decides they need to take their former guardian's car and go to Las Vegas to find their father. Lutie has never driven a car before but she is a fast learner and gets them there safely.

In Las Vegas they kids find their father has died (in prison) and they are truly homeless and without funds. Lutie, feeling alone and without resources utilizes every means possible to get a job whether it is legal or not. Fate, a young scholar who loves to spend
his days in the library, makes a few dollars gathering cans and golf balls which he sells. Together they hope to make enough to rent an apartment in an area where Fate can go to a good school. While they struggle to eat and stay away from the law, they obtain help from a mysterious guardian angel. This person leaves them notes directing them to places they can eat free and parking places where they can sleep in the car without being seen.

The ending of the book is a powerful one. They find their guardian angel who again finds a way to help the children find a good home. Letts knows how to keep her readers turning the pages and does not disappoint. This is a great study of the treatment our homeless children receive and the dangers that await them on the streets.

Billie Letts former works include Where the Heart Is, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon and Shoot the Moon.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Gutwrenching Read

I know some of the subject matters that are in this novel happen in true life, but when I read I do not want to read how a 15 year-old does porn and drugs. She is 15 years old! It was a quick, easy read but not my cup of tea. Billie Letts writing style was very good. She is well written, but it was just very disturbing to me that she was so bitter and jaded. I know that every story does not have a happy ending, but Lutie definitely needed a break from it all. I loved the ending.

A Feel Good Read

I've read all of Billie Letts' novels to this point. You may have heard of her first one - 'Where the Heart Is'- a New york Times bestseller, an Oprah pick and also made into a movie starring Natalie Portman. It is the story of a young pregnant teen who lives in the local Wal Mart. Made in the U.S.A. returns to Wal Mart. Lutie and Fate McFee's father ran off to Las Vegas a year ago, leaving them behind with his girlfriend Floy. While shopping at the local Wal Mart, Floy drops dead. Fifteen year old Lutie decides that they shouldn't wait around for social services to put them into foster care, so they take Floy's car and head off to Vegas to find their dad. With little money and unable to find their dad, they try to survive in Sin City. Some unknown good Samaritan seems to be watching out for them, leaving food and notes on the hood of the car they're living in - but it's not enough. Lutie and Fate are soon subjected to the ugly side of Vegas. I'll stop there without going any further into the plot and spoiling the tale. Letts' hallmark seems to be that family is not always biological. This theme was also the basis for 'The Honk and Holler Opening Soon'. And it's done well again in Made in the U.S.A. Although it becomes somewhat predicable as to what's going to happen in the end, it is still an enjoyable, feel good read that will have you cheering for Lutie and Fate and the resilience of the human spirit.

Terrible

I was so looking forward to reading the new Billie Letts...and was so disappointed! This book was just plain awful. The tattoo incident was what finished me - it simply would not have happened. I didn't feel empathy for the girl character - in fact, I would have enjoyed the book much more had she been left in Vegas while her brother went on to Oklahoma. Unbelievable how the author of one of my favorite books could have come up with this one.