Punching Bagis the compelling true story of a high school career defined by poverty and punctuated by outbreaks of domestic abuse. Rex Ogle, who brilliantly mapped his experience of hunger inFree Lunch, here describes his struggle to survive; reflects on his complex, often paradoxical relationship with his passionate, fierce mother; and charts the trajectory of his stepfathers anger. Hovering over Rexs story is the talismanic presence of his unborn baby sister. Through it all, Rex threads moments of grace and humour that act as beacons of light in the darkness. Compulsively readable, beautifully crafted and authentically told,Punching Bagis a remarkable memoir about one teenagers cycle of violence, blame and attempts to forgive his parentsand himself.

 

 

This book is aimed at children at US 7th grade-college freshman.

This book has been graded for interest at 13-18 years.

There are 240 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2023 by WW Norton & Co .

Rex Ogle was born and raised mostly in Texas. He says, "I was one of the poorest kids at a school for the children of the wealthy. I was on the subsidized lunch program, and mocked endlessly. This is my middle school experience, but I think it's an important story to tell. " A former children's book editor in New York City, Rex and his partner now enjoy much nicer weather in the Los Angeles area.