What secret asian girl is Reading

Pennies From Burger Heaven by Marcy McKay

Pennies from Burger Heaven by Marcy McKay is the story of a young girl whose circumstances lead to her and her mother living on the grounds of a city cemetery. Copper Daniels is street-smart and savvy to the ways of the homeless world so when she wakes up one morning and finds her mother gone with no explanation, she gets to work finding her. Most people would call the police, but Copper's reaction is one of self-reliance, perhaps the only gift from her mother, so she sets out to unravel the secrets kept from her and uncovers some of her own. 

The fact that the premise of a family living in a cemetery does not raise eyebrows is social commentary in and of itself.  The problem  of homelessness in this country has escalated to terrible proportions and Copper's story is symptomatic of this. A story like this one would have believability issues 30 years ago. But today, a young girl living on the streets among crazed murderers and evil rapists (and evangelical preachers) is just exposition. Oh, I forgot to add that there's a Street Killer on the loose in the area, but for Copper, the threat of being murdered is just one more obstacle to finding her mom. Suffice it to say, the odds are against her but since she doesn't have a stone sword like the Warrior Angel, a statue she lives near, wields, she must use the only weapon she has to solve the daunting task in front of her: her wits. As the story progresses it becomes less of finding her mother and more of navigating a world that ignores her kind. "The Street Killer's message reminds us all," she observes, "God hates the poor."

I thought this novel was constructed very well. The language is a bit rough, especially the use of some slang, but reflective of the setting and the world in which the characters live. As testament to which groups are most affected by homelessness, there's pretty much every minority included with some stereotyping, which bothered me a little. I tend to throw up a reader block whenever Asians are named "Mai" or some variation of that: May Ling, Pearl, Suzie Wong, etc. Why can't they be "Jennifer"? Anyway, that may be a personal prejudice of mine and less objective commentary. I liked the descriptions of the different parts of the cemetery, as in life, people divided into the "Somebodies" of the world versus the "Nobodies" and culminating in the anonymous "Unknown Negro." Whether young Copper absorbs the metaphor or not is unknown but it reads loud and clear even to the casually observant reader.

Although I'm not fond of the title (the Burger thing was off-putting to me) I do recommend this book as a young adult or "new adult" offering. This is a story about overcoming odds, digging deep to survive, girl power, parental love, the power of friendship, sacrifice and life changing on a dime...or, this case, a penny as it turns out.

Check out these other great blog stops on the tour!

1/18       My Book Fix Blog  -- Review

1/19       Hall Ways  -- Promo

1/20       The Page Unbound  -- Author Interview

1/21       bookishjessp  -- Guest Post

1/22       Because This is My Life Y'all  -- Review

1/23       The Crazy Booksellers -- Promo

1/24       All for the Love of the Word -- Author Interview

1/25       Books and Broomsticks -- Guest Post

1/26       Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books  -- Promo

1/27       Missus Gonzo -- Review

1/28       The Librarian Talks -- Guest Post          

1/29       Belle Whittington on Tumblr  -- Author Interview

1/30       Book Crazy Gals -- Promo

1/31       Secret Asian Girl  -- Review

2/1         Texas Book-aholic -- Review

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