Charity Girl

What if you were a seventeen-year-old girl with a "social disease?" And what if this wasn't now, but back during World War I? Did you know that during World War I, the U.S. government went on a moral and medical campaign, quarantining and incarcerating young women who were thought to have venereal diseases? Charity Girl, by Michael Lowenthal is a novel about this fascinating period of history. It tells the story of Frieda Mintz, an employee at Jordan Marsh department store in Boston. She spends one night with an infected soldier, and is put in a detention home. This book tells her story, and the story of the other women she lives with.
Though this is not a YA fiction book it is very readable. If you're studying American history, this would be an interesting book for you. You'll find it in New Fiction. Put a reserve on it if it is checked out. It is bound to be a popular read. Read a review of the book here.