Of Better Blood

January 18, 2016
After polio impaired Rowan Collier's legs, her highbred father and sister sent her to the Boston Home for Crippled Children. Several years later, in 1922, 16-year-old Rowan is reluctantly performing in the "Unfit Family" show run by the New England Betterment Council to highlight types of people (including polio victims like Rowan, who walks with a limp) worth sterilizing. Rowan gains confidence thanks to new friend Dorchy, and the girls eventually escape to Cape Cod, only to wind up working for the Council once again at an island camp in Maine. When clever Rowan discovers the deadly plans that the adults on the island have for the "unfit" young campers, she vows to stop them. The book's meandering first half means that it takes some time to reach the gripping island plot, but Moger (Teaching the Diary of Anne Frank) adeptly handles the novel's historical aspects and wisely avoids a too-neat resolution, given that eugenic beliefs and forced sterilizations persisted in this country long after Rowan's story ends. It's an engaging introduction to a rarely discussed piece of history. Ages 13âup. Agent: Kate McKean, Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.

December 15, 2015
Moger's debut novel tackles a little-studied chapter of American history. Sixteen-year-old Rowan Collier has always been privileged--her father, a scientist, taught her that Colliers are "the fittest of the fit." But when she contracted polio at age 11, the growing eugenics movement plunged her into the insidiously sinister meaning of "fitness." Now, in 1922, Rowan is forced to perform as a cripple in the Betterment Council sideshow denouncing "unfit families": sick or disabled people, immigrants, and others deemed unfit to reproduce. When Rowan and her mischievous friend, Dorchy, escape the carnival, they become counselors at the Council's prophetically named Camp for Unfortunates and discover horrifying experiments they must stop. Unfortunately, Rowan's habit of summarizing chapter events slows the novel's momentum. Threaded through the seedy carnival and camp action and Rowan's flashbacks are classism, accounts of sterilization, and the subtle chill of supremacism couched in concern--even love. Rowan's conflicts with privilege and family loyalty emphasize how easily eugenics could take root, and there are no easy endings; the epilogue hints at future medical atrocities, implicating the eugenics movement as a precursor to the horrors of Nazi Germany. An author's note provides a brief explanation and complicates popular historical figures, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Graham Bell, by revealing their support of eugenics. Sure to spark difficult but necessary discussions. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 13-16)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 6-9-Rowan is the youngest daughter in the affluent Collier family living in Manhattan a century ago. Though the girl grows up without a mother, her childhood is comfortable and carefree. That is, until Rowan is struck by polio. As the family struggle to cope with their own prejudice, the protagonist is sent away. She befriends Dorchy, another young girl with her own set of problems, in her journey to find the inner strength to cope with her new disability and the raw rejection of her family. As their summer unfolds, the friends uncover the horrific plans of their wardens to create a "fitter" society. They vow to save their friends, but they aren't even sure if they will be able to save themselves. Moger crafts likable characters who mature over the course of the book. A few characters are downright villainous, and most follow predictable paths of personal growth. The story touches on delicate subjects, such as forced sterilization, with sensitivity. While the account of Rowan is fictional, Moger explains the historical context of her story in the notes at the end of the book. Despite a slow start to the story, the pace of the plot picks up with unexpected challenges and heartbreaking results. Readers will enjoy the mystery as it mounts in the final chapters but may be frustrated with the realistic conclusion. VERDICT This book is an engaging work of historical fiction that would be a great addition for any middle school library.-Paige Rowse, Needham High School, MA

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