Made in the U.S.A., Billie Letts
Made in the U.S.A., Billie Letts
1 Rating(s)
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Made in the U.S.A.

Author: Billie Letts

Narrator: Cassandra Morris

Unabridged: 8 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/19/2008


Synopsis

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Cara on June 17, 2022

I can't, I just can't!!! Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts had a lump in my throat, had my heart in knots. This story will never be forgotten, to whoever reads this book, or has read it already please tell me this story will remain in your heart forever. I knew nothing going into this story which m......more

Goodreads review by Karen on July 02, 2016

When I really like a book, I tend to read everything by that author, with mixed results. (John Irving, usually great. Augusten Burroughs, not so much so.) I loved The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, and liked Where the Heart Is. But Made in the USA was a disappointment, with an extremely unlikeable ma......more

Goodreads review by Cranky Commentary (Melinda) on June 15, 2024

After the death of their stepmother, 15 year old Lutie and her 11 year old brother, Fate, take the car, and with the little money scraped up from inside their house, head to Las Vegas. They have no other relatives, and are terrified of having to go to foster care. Their biological father was last se......more

Goodreads review by Michele on June 24, 2009

I've only read one other book by Letts and it was Where the Heart Is. Unfortunately, the two are extremely similar. It was a quick, enjoyable read for the summer. It only took me two days to finish it. It was one of those stories where the main character keeps acting the way you don't want them to.......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on May 04, 2009

I had a very hard time deciding whether to give this book two or three stars, but the farther I get away from this book, the more I realize how dreadful it was. I haven't read _The Honk & Holler Opening Soon_, but I've read all her others, and I really wish Billie Letts had stopped with _Where the H......more