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popthebutterfly 's review for:
The Degenerates
by J. Albert Mann
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher! Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Degenerates
Author: J. Albert Mann
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Slight LGBTQA+ relationship (makeout scene) and based on the covers one of the girls is black and the other might be Asian, but it wasn’t well described in the book.
Publication Date: March 17, 2020
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (TW torture, violence, gore, some language, and
Pages: March 17, 2020
Amazon Link
Synopsis: 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.
Review: I thought this book was well done. The world building was amazing and I like that the author kept to the historical points in the book. I felt the author did well to subtly describe the horror that people faced in the early 20th century. The book didn’t shy away from showing a light on some of the darkest moments of our history in America. The book was also very well even paced.
However, I didn’t like how the book was told. The book kinda bounced between events and timelines a bit recklessly and that made it hard to follow. The book also didn’t develop these characters very well and I had a hard time caring for them as a reader. I feel like the book could have been told from one POV and worked much better than with three. I also didn’t like that the girls just accepted their given labels. It fits with the time, but I think it would have been more impactful if they outright rejected it in them.
Verdict: A great read, especially for those who like history!
Book: The Degenerates
Author: J. Albert Mann
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Diversity: Slight LGBTQA+ relationship (makeout scene) and based on the covers one of the girls is black and the other might be Asian, but it wasn’t well described in the book.
Publication Date: March 17, 2020
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (TW torture, violence, gore, some language, and
Pages: March 17, 2020
Amazon Link
Synopsis: 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.
Review: I thought this book was well done. The world building was amazing and I like that the author kept to the historical points in the book. I felt the author did well to subtly describe the horror that people faced in the early 20th century. The book didn’t shy away from showing a light on some of the darkest moments of our history in America. The book was also very well even paced.
However, I didn’t like how the book was told. The book kinda bounced between events and timelines a bit recklessly and that made it hard to follow. The book also didn’t develop these characters very well and I had a hard time caring for them as a reader. I feel like the book could have been told from one POV and worked much better than with three. I also didn’t like that the girls just accepted their given labels. It fits with the time, but I think it would have been more impactful if they outright rejected it in them.
Verdict: A great read, especially for those who like history!