Book 8 - Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist by Dickens is the classic tale of the ever changing fortunes of a young orphan in Victorian England.  Young Oliver is born in a poor house.  His mother dies shortly after his birth and his father is unknown.  The only clues to his identity, a locket and a ring, are stolen from his mother by the woman who acted as midwife.  He is sent to a poor home for orphans where food is scarce and neglect is the norm with the money that is supposed to be used to feed the young orphans being largely pocketed by the woman in charge.  Oliver manages to survive and is taken to another home for older boys where he is nominated to take his supper bowl up and ask for seconds.  This scandalous behavior gets him branded as a troublemaker, and he is eventually apprenticed to a coffin maker to keep the other boys from being harmed by his bad influence.  He runs away to London and is taken in by a devious Jew, who is involved in numerous criminal pursuits.  He is wrongly accused of pickpocketing and is taken in and cared for by an older gentleman named Brownlow, who is astonished by his resemblance to the picture of a young woman that hands in his housekeeper's quarters.  Unfortunately the Jew contrives to have Oliver kidnapped and then sends him out with a man named Sikes to assist in burglarizing a house.  Oliver determines to warn the inhabitants, but before he has a chance is shot by the butler and eventually abandoned in a ditch by Sikes and his accomplice.  Oliver manages to return to the house where he is taken in and care for by the two ladies who live there.  Eventually he is reunited with Brownlow, who is endeavouring to uncover his true identity by apprehending the mysterious man named Monks who is at the same time attempting to locate and destroy all evidence to Oliver's identity. 

I have to confess that the book is extremely depressing up to the point at which Oliver is shot and taken in, but if you can persevere to that point, the tale becomes far less depressing and much more engrossing.  In the end, I actually enjoyed the story overall and will probably reread it again at some point in the future.  I would recommend the book for ages 13 at least and over.  It's probably more of a high school or adult level book.