Children of Las Vegas: True Stories about Growing up in the World's Playground by Timothy O'Grady

Children of Las Vegas: True Stories about Growing up in the World's Playground Reviews

• 
  Rickee1368

  I have lived in Las Vegas fifty years…I am no apologist for the city—we for sure have our issues and problems; however, if living here were as bleak and miserable as the author attests after his two years in town, it would be shocking that anyone would choose to live here.
  
  I appreciate the stories his subjects shared (and I even taught one of them when he was in high school…). I realize that everyone has his own story to tell—but by only sharing the dark stories of addictions, dysfunction, and malaise, a one-sided portrait is created.
  
  Perhaps I am too close to the subject to view the book objectively—it was not to my taste.
• 
  Ietrio

  The Sin City begets sinful children, right? What about the majority? Who cares!
• 
  Rachael ( RachaelRexds )

  a really eye-opening read about the darkness and struggles behind families and people who lived / are living in las vegas! would recommend everyone to give this book a read if you can get your hands on a copy.
• 
  Dena

  Having grown up in Vegas, I can relate to everything I DID read. Unfortunately, I just wasn't in the mood to relive it the whole thing, so I didn't get all the way through.
  
  For those folks who have written reviews elsewhere rejecting the idea that the author only sought out a saturated handful of Vegas folks to interview and therefore only heard the down-and-dirty/skewed perspective: in my opinion, the majority of people who are raised in Vegas have a similar upbringing as these interviewees; they aren't the minority. Vegas isn't a place you think about when dreaming of raising a family, and for good reason--it's full of drugs, excessive drinking, addictive gambling, blatant sexualization of women, gangs, violence, transience, and poverty. The public schools are a joke, and when I grew up most folks had to work in the casinos--where there wasn't health care, vacations/sick time, or decent shifts, so sprinkle in all that comes from not having parent(s) at home and all the stress of having little to no job security.
  
  Long story short, good for the author for shining some light on what it is like growing up in a city known for depravity.
• 
  Sandra Tamez Gómez

  Este libro expresa en mucho y de una forma muy diferente a lo que yo hubiera podido decir, mi impresión de unas Vegas que visité y que no me impresionaron tanto como a mucha más gente que conozco. Como psicóloga social este libro me ha resultado interesante, sin embargo también como lectora me ha dado mucho para reflexionar y entender por qué ese lema de "lo que pasa en las Vegas..." no terminaba de parecerme tan esperanzador como lo quieren hacer sonar gracias al marketing.
• 
  Judith

  Interesting read but really depressing about how Vegas is such a haven for addicts of any sort. The poor kids have so many obstacles to overcome (most of them put there by their addict parents) and being able to grow up with any sort of life at the end is a credit to them. I've never seen the appeal in Vegas and this only confirms how horrible a place it is.
• 
  Cuchi Aslogh

  Desgarrador.
  Merece la pena leerlo para saber más y matar al mito de allí. Aparte de poder ver como la ludopatia destroza familias, ciudades y personas