Olivia Twist

Author: Lorie Langdon

Publisher: Blink YA Books

Release Date: March 6, 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A fun, quirky, retelling of the classic by Charles Dickens that will be appealing to a new generation.

Olivia Brownlow spent a portion of her childhood living on the street pretending to be a boy while stealing on the streets of London in order to survive. When one of her thefts goes bad and she is caught, she lucks out by her uncle taking her in and treating her how to be a lady in high society.  Unfortunately, it is hard to leave behind the only life she has ever known.  Just when she thinks she has turned a corner, a face from the past comes back into her life.  Jack MacCarron has become the adopted nephew of one of London’s riches families.  Jack used to be on the street as well and was known as the Artful Dodger.  His new aunt is using him and his skills to gain enough wealth to stay in high standing.  When Jack finds out that Olivia is using her skills as well to help the local orphans, he decides that together they may be able to do enough good to outweigh the bad of their pasts.

I so enjoyed the last book Langdon wrote and was really looking forward to this retelling. It has been several years since the last time I read Oliver Twist so this seemed like an entirely new story to me.  In fact, after I read this, I had to go back and read Oliver Twist again to see what the similarities were, which happened to be more of a slight alternation rather than full retelling.  The dynamic between Olivia and Jack was played out really well, along with that of Olivia and most of those she interacted with.  The romance played out really well and didn’t seem forced, which is always a nice today in today’s novels.  The writing was very well done and told in an exciting way, but it may not click for all audiences (what book ever does).  I think many people will enjoy Olivia Twist, especially those that are fans of the original Dickens novel.  I recommend this for fans of the original and anyone who enjoys a good historical fiction novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.