โRespectful, unflinching, and eye-opening.โ โKirkus Reviews
โHistorical fiction that not only depicts a cruel, horrifying reality but also the strength and courage of the people who had to endure it.โ โBooklist
In the tradition of Girl, Interrupted, this fiery historical novel follows four young women in the early 20th century whose lives intersect when they are locked up by a world that took the poor, the disabled, the marginalized-and institutionalized them for life.
The Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded is not a happy place. The young women who are already there certainly donโt think so. Not Maxine, who is doing everything she can to protect her younger sister Rose in an institution where vicious attendants and bullying older girls treat them as the morons, imbeciles, and idiots the doctors have deemed them to be. Not Alice, either, who was left there when her brother couldnโt bring himself to support a sister with a club foot. And not London, who has just been dragged there from the best foster situation sheโs ever had, thanks to one unexpected, life-altering moment. Each girl is determined to change her fate, no matter what it takes.