The Degenerates

Rose, her sister Maxine and Alice have lived at the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded most of their lives. It is an institution for any girls or women deemed other or who had nowhere else to go or were unwanted by their families (poor, marginalized or disabled girls). The place is full of bullies, vicious attendants, and very little happiness. But the three girls have worked out a life that works for them.

Maxine does everything she can to protect her sister Rose who is likely on the Autism spectrum. Alice is her best friend who was given up because she was born with a clubbed foot.

London is in foster care. She lives with an old woman who spends her days yelling insults and profanity out of her window. When London is taken away and sent to the school, she vows to escape.

Told through four voices The Degenerates is an historical novel that looks at the harsh life that was true of many, many people. Mann has written it with sensitivity and hope, turning it into a beautiful telling of an awful situation.

Mann, J. Albert. (2020). The Degenerates. New York: Atheneum.