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

Dasani leaves to attend Hershey. In a rare moment of sentiment, Supreme tells her he loves her. Chanel, Avianna, and Nana travel with her. Hershey is a small town, filled with chocolate and references to chocolate and statues and portrait of Milton Hershey. Elliott briefly narrates Hershey’s life. Born to a poor family in Pennsylvania in 1857, he eventually became an apprentice to a local taffy maker. Later, he opened his own candy shop in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, where he witnessed the struggles of the urban poor. After moving back to Pennsylvania and building his chocolate-making empire, he founded a school to help “poor, healthy, white, male orphans” excel (305).

Dasani meets the president of the school and her housemother, Tabitha McQuiddy. They go to Dasani’s new home, which has a lot of luxuries, like a ping-pong table, that she has never experienced. In her new room, Dasani is stunned by how big her closet is. Dasani meets Jason McQuiddy, the housefather, and their hypoallergenic dog. Dasani will be on an adjustment plan for the next month: She can receive only one weekly call from her mother, and family members can’t visit.