"BYE, BYE, BALI KAI"

by Harriett Luger ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1996

A middle-class family's descent into homelessness, as seen through the eyes of the younger daughter, Suzie. Suzie's father has lost his job and her mother's new, low-paying job doesn't cover the bills. After eviction from the Bali Kai Apartments and a week in a cheap motel, they end up sleeping in their car behind an abandoned building. It affects Suzie, 11, primarily socially: She loses her best friend, Meredith, because she can't come up with the money for a joint Halloween costume and has been forbidden from discussing the family's misfortunes. She must spend her afternoons in the public library, alone but for the attention of the class pariah, who soon proves a better friend than Meredith. Despite a facile ending, this portrait of one family's troubles is fairly realistic, and Suzie's point of view is especially well realized. The grittiness of missing baths, the tension of a family pushed to the edge, the humiliation of parents who feel like failures, and the bewilderment of the children are all dealt with honestly. Luger avoids sentimentality and creates a sympathetic and involving story of a contemporary problem in very personal, very childlike terms.

Pub Date: May 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 161

Publisher: Browndeer/Harcourt Brace

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S