Punching Bag

Punching Bag is 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 in Free 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 stepfather's anger. Hovering over Rex's 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 Bag is a remarkable memoir about one teenager's cycle of violence, blame and attempts to forgive his parents-and himself.

About the author

Rex Ogle is the author of Free Lunch, winner of the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award; Punching Bag, a New York Public Library Best Book; Abuela Don't Forget Me, finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award; and Road Home, which received a Printz Honor and a Stonewall Book Award Honor. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Product details

• Authors: Rex Ogle
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 12 to 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 29.03.2023
• EAN: 9781324052210
• ISBN: 978-1-324-05221-0
• Dimensions: 140 mm x 211 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 191 g
• Subjects: Children's and young people's books > Non-fiction books / Non-fiction picture books > History, politics; YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Social Topics / Bullying, YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiography / General, YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Social Topics / Peer Pressure, People & places (Children's / Teenage), YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Family / General, YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Social Topics / General, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics, poverty;abuse;memoir;domestic violence