The Degenerates (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781534419353)

"Respectful, unflinching, and eye-opening." --Kirkus Reviews
"Historical fiction that not only depicts a cruel, horrifying reality but also the strength and courage of the people who had to endure it." --Booklist

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 don't 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 couldn't bring himself to support a sister with a club foot. And not London, who has just been dragged there from the best foster situation she's ever had, thanks to one unexpected, life-altering moment. Each girl is determined to change her fate, no matter what it takes.

Author: J. Albert Mann
ISBN-10: 1534419357
ISBN-13: 9781534419353
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 03/17/2020
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.90w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2020
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 03/01/2020
School Library Journal 02/21/2020 pg. 1