Dodger
Clever adventure depicts Victorian streets with sly humor.
Kids say
Based on 1 review
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that 2013 Printz Honor Book Dodger is a clever, fast-moving, funny, and suspenseful historical adventure set in the streets and sewers of Victorian London. The main character, Dodger, has a reputation as a thief, but his heart is definitely in the right place. There's some violence, including the kidnapping and beating of a young woman and an encounter with a crazed barber, but it's neither graphic nor gratuitous. The characters and the narrator sometimes employ vulgar terms for excrement and body parts ("shite," "arse"), along with a few instances of "piss," "bastard," "damn," and "hell." Dodger shares a few kisses with his lady love, but the two are well-chaperoned. Having children out of wedlock is mentioned, as is the fact that poor, desperate girls sometimes turn to prostitution to survive. In general, the novel presents a realistic portrait of its era.
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What's the Story?
On the streets of London, 17-year-old street urchin Dodger witnesses the escape attempt of a badly beaten young woman and rushes to her rescue. With the help of journalist Charlie Dickens, Dodger gets Simplicity, as the unknown girl chooses to call herself, to relative safety. But it soon becomes clear that her former captors will stop at nothing to get her back. It will take every bit of Dodger's street wisdom -- plus assistance from the likes of politician Benjamin Disraeli and London police founder Robert Peel -- to effect a permanent solution that will save Simplicity's neck and not plunge England into war.
Is It Any Good?
Mixing characters from fiction with real-life historical figures, DODGER is a captivating Victorian adventure that's sure to please both fans of Oliver Twist and casual readers. Author Terry Pratchett employs a narrative voice that's perfectly pitched to the material and which offers many sly pleasures. The plot is full of suspense and twists, but Dodger often works best in its smaller moments, when the characters stop their machinations and reveal their true selves.
Slightly older teens already familiar with the setting will enjoy a richer experience with the novel's many literary and historical allusions, but Dodger can be enjoyed by wide range of readers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Dodger's portrait of life in Victorian England. What do you think of how the novel mingles real historical figures with fictional ones? Can you think of other books or movies that do this?
In Victorian times, if a woman were treated cruelly by her husband, what were her options? How have attitudes about domestic violence changed over the past two centuries?
How have attitudes about the poor changed since the Victorian era? What assumptions did people make then that they still make today?
Book Details
- Author: Terry Pratchett
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Topics: Adventures, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, History
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Harper
- Publication date: September 25, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 17
- Number of pages: 368
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Audiobook (abridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Award: ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
Our Editors Recommend
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Great Expectations
Fast-paced, moving Dickens classic of reversed fortune.
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Oliver Twist
Beautiful, but very dark. Not for sensitive kids.
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A Christmas Carol: In Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas
Scrooge learns compassion in granddaddy of Christmas tales.
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Bram Stoker's Dracula
Classic vampire tale is sexier and darker than you remember.
For kids who love fantasy and history
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