Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City

“Even Dasani’s name speaks of a certain reach. The bottled water had come to Brooklyn’s bodegas just before she was born, catching the fancy of her mother, who could not afford such indulgences. Who paid for water in a bottle? Just the sound of it—Dasani—conjured another life. It signaled the presence of a new people, at the turn of a new century, whose discovery of Brooklyn had just begun.”

Many of the family members’ names (“Avianna,” “Chanel,” even “Supreme”) can seem aspirational, speaking to privileges and ways of living that are generally beyond their circumstances. These names also often serve as sharp reminders of the extreme wealth gap in NYC and the cultural divide reinforced by gentrification.

“To follow Dasani, as she comes of age, is to follow her seven siblings. Whether they are riding the bus, switching trains, climbing steps, or jumping puddles, they always move as one. Only together have they learned to navigate poverty’s systems—ones with names suggesting help. Child protection. Public assistance. Criminal justice. Homeless services.”

This serves as an important summary of the many factors and obstacles that contribute to Dasani’s narrative. Her family is very close and depend on each other, but the stability of the family is forever threatened by the intervention of outside agencies.

“Dress fly. Do good in school. Or fight.”

This quote from Chanel is repeated so frequently throughout the book that it too becomes a kind of mantra, similar to Supreme’s advice of, “Whatever happens, stay together” (17). It points to three strategies for social success available to Dasani and her siblings. Outside of stealing, they rarely have the means to “[d]ress fly.” Some, especially Dasani, might have the aptitude to “[d]o good in school,” but financial stress and family trauma often derail their efforts. When the first two strategies fail, they resort to fighting—a pattern that is seen throughout the book.