Can't Get There From Here

The first time in my life when I saw “real” homeless people was in 2005 in New York City. It was such a paradoxical scene; when I looked up high I was astonished by the high sky scrapers and huge building, but when I looked down I saw people taking the street their home. I felt really sorry about the “injustice” that we face in this world, and how humans hurt humans. The image of the homeless people that I saw in New York never left me while I was reading this book: Can’t Get There From Here, by Todd Strasser.


The runaways' story is told from the perspective of a fifteen-years-old girl called Maybe, who, along with the other homeless members of her makeshift street family (OG, Country Club, Jewel, 2Moro, Maggot, Rainbow and Tears) has been abused and rejected, tries to survive in a very dangerous world.
I felt totally engaged with the book from the very first page which opens with a quote by one of the characters, OG. "Here is where you are. There is where you want to be. But you can't get there from here."

I felt more sympathetic with the story characters when it touches upon other inhumane, mature themes, such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, alcohol poisoning, suicide, drug use and prostitution.

It is not all doom and gloom though; glimmers of light are found in a compassionate librarian and adult leaders of a group house. Librarian Anthony in particular rushes too fast to protect the teens, offering food and use of his office without logically reporting the situation to professionals.
Although several end up dying, yet the conclusion offers hope as Maybe saves a friend—and perhaps herself. She realizes at the conclusion of the book if “you tried, you could get somewhere.”

After I have read this book, I felt as if I have spent a few days in the shoes of a homeless kid!