Daily Blague

Before writing about Them, I wanted to read a few reviews, so I turned to Metacritic. One of the cited reviews, Kate Bolick's in The Boston Globe, paired Them with a book called Welfare Brat (Bloomsbury 2005), by Mary Childers. I had not heard of this, but I was so intrigued by Ms Bolick's write-up that I ordered it on the spot. Shortly after its arrival, I read it all in one afternoon.

I began, as always, with the author's photo on the dust jacket. Mary Childers looks like an attractive happy, centered, and possibly privileged child of Westchester or Fairfield County. I would soon learn that there is no trace of Webster Avenue or Highbridge in her voice, either. Welfare Brat is all about the pressures behind this almost miraculous transformation.

Continue reading about Welfare Brat at Portico.