Evicted // REVIEW

This book was one that intrigued me because of the topic, but also intimidated me a little bit too. Evicted is all about "poverty and profit in the American city" -- not exactly a light, easy topic! But seeing that it was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and one of The New York Times Book Review 10 best books of 2016 as well as a NYT bestseller (and a winner of many more awards too!) sealed the deal for me and I knew I had to read this one. I'm on a mission this year to read more books that challenge me, open my eyes to the reality and experiences of others, and push me to get out of my comfort zone and start understanding so I can start working for change. This book did all of those things.

It's told through stories, in a way that makes it easy to read and very convicting and personal, too. There were times that the stories felt a little disjointed or lengthy, but overall, I appreciated that the story wasn't told through facts and stats, but instead through story and real people's experiences. I found myself empathizing and sympathizing with so many of the characters (real people!) and being shocked at how easy it is to fall on hard times and lose everything. My experience has been nothing like that, and my eyes were opened to even more of my own privilege as I read this book.

Many parts of this book were shocking, sickening, and sad. All in all, it was incredibly well-told, helpful, illuminating, and moving. It wasn't always fun to read, but I'm grateful to have read it, and know that it has helped change me and soften my heart toward people and circumstances I might otherwise have been quick to judge and turn away from.

Highly recommend this one.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review!