Life is tough for Ettie Shaw, her mother and big brother Joe. Moving to a one room home with no stove to cook on and barely anything to their name has been tough on this family. But at least they’re not in the work house or on the streets living among the rats.

Joe has had enough of this poverty since his father died, wishing for a better life. He decides being alone will be easier and leaves one day, never to return.

Even worse times befall Ettie and she is soon on her own, on the streets at only 10 years old. Purely by chance she runs into Joe. He’s shocked to see his little sister homeless, telling her he’s been working hard and saving his money. Maybe his boss will give her a job too.

Once Ettie is dressed like a boy, she begins work for the man called Fagin. She’s nimble with a needle and is pleased to have a roof over her head, until she learns what Joe and the other boys working for Fagin truly are.

Adding another string to the classic Oliver by Charles Dickens, one of the Fagin boys has a sister. Dressing like a boy she joins the gang, pleased to have found her big brother. He has a secret however, and she is not going to like the truth, let alone the consequences.

This story jumps from 1888 London to 1988 Australia, where the Australian Bicentennial is being celebrated. A student faces her classmates to tell them about a distant relative who was caught stealing on the streets of London as a child and sent to Australia as a convict at age only 12.

This student is of First Nations descent and also questions the bicentennial of a country that had lived in for thousands of years before the ships arrived.

Each chapter is then summarized at the back of the book with historical information explained.

Perfect for Dyslexic or Reluctant Readers, Fagin’s Girl is so much more than a retelling of an Oliver character.

Author – Karen McCombie

Illustrator – Anneli Bray

Dyslexic Read – Reading Age 8 / Interest Age 8-12

Read the First Chapter Here

(2022, Barrington Stoke, Historical, Family, Crime, Dyslexic, Dyslexia, Reluctant Reader, Siblings, Theft, Australia, Convicts, Truth, Loss, Grief, Homeless, London, Poverty, Secret)