"Money Hungry" by Sharon Flake

Money Hungry

by Sharon G. Flake

This summer, I read Money Hungry  by Sharon Flake; a realistic fiction novel depicting the struggles that 13 year old Raspberry Hill encounters with money. Raspberry is a plutomaniac, and throughout the book she goes to desperate measures to obtain even scarce amounts of money. She often finds herself in trouble or in 'sticky situations' that are always tied around her frantic pursuit of the dollar bill.  But as I read on into the story, I realize that Raspberry's real issue isn't with money, but in fact, her fear of revisiting the dark times in her past. 

Before Raspberry and her mother live in the projects, they often found themselves roaming the streets, begging for cash and surviving off of snacks out of gas stations convenience shops. Raspberry doesn't mention her past too much in the story, which convinces me that she has trouble coping with it. In the story, Raspberry says "Next thing I knew, we was living outside with stray cats and dogs. Dirty men. Crazy women. Kids without parents, and people pushing shopping carts filled with smashed up pop can and wrinkled-up newspapers." (pg.23)

A little later, I discover that Raspberry's obsession with money is very closely tied to her lack of it. She says, "'Cause if you got money, people can't take stuff from you-not your house, or your ride, not your family. They can't do nothing much to you, if you got a bankroll backing you up." (pg.25) Based on this evidence, I concluded that Raspberry was to scared to end up on the streets, in that vulnerable situation that she once was. She believes that if she has money, she can protect her and her mother from struggling. She believes that money is everything; family, friends, life. 

But by the end of the story, after risking her friendships, her mother and nearly losing all her money,  Raspberry changes. She appreciates the value of having relationships with people and that money can only do so much.