Among the Fallen by Virginia Frances Schwartz - OPTIONAL

Among the Fallen by Virginia Frances Schwartz, 289 pages. Holiday House, 2019.  $17.

Language: R (8 swears, 2 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13 blunt sex talk, doctors exam described); Violence: PG-13 (rape, child abuse)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Orpha, 16yo, has almost finished her sentence at Tothill Prison in London in the 1850’s.  She has received an invitation from a Mr. Dickens to live at his new project – Urania, a home to help girls transition to a life after prison. First, however, she must avoid the pitfalls of the prison during her final days.  At once she is at Urania, can she really let go of the trauma of her life before and at the prison? Can she ever feel she deserves a better life?

I know Dickens is now kind of dismissed as one of the “old white men”, but Schwartz’s book brings him right back to the fact that he wrote about the lowest of London’s inhabitants and brought light to their dark corners.  Teachers of Dickens will love this.  Only a few students will appreciate it.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS