“This is a story about two children - Joe and Annie. Joe can tell stories. Annie can see and hear things. She can see ghost and whom they are linked to as you will see in the story.
The story is set in the days where child labor existed, where the rich manipulated the poor. This entire story is told in the first person. Joe, the main character is the one telling us his story.
Joe and Annie are siblings. Their mother left them many years ago, when Annie was still a baby, at a workhouse. She leaves them with the promise that she will return for them. She told them that she was going to find work in town. She also left with Annie a necklace with half a penny attached to it. Then she is gone.
Joe and Annie, grew up in that workhouse ever since. They were not treated well. As usual in most workhouses, children are overworked, underfed and unloved. One day or rather on night, Joe attacked his Master and the two children escape.
They meet a traveler named Travis or rather they were saved by him. He helps them makes proper shoes and gives them advise not to trust in people who stayed in houses.
They spend the night together and for once Joe and Annie had a full meal of the chicken they had taken from the workhouse while they escape.
In the morning, Travis travels with them and teaches them how to survive. He also teaches Joe how to use a sling. The following day, Travis shows them to a path through the forest and tells them that the path will lead them to a town. He was going to leave them because he says he likes to travel alone.
So the two children travel along the path, the forest closes all around them. Annie began to tell Joe that she sees to children following them - a boy and a girl. But Joe can’t see anything. He gets angry with her and shouts aloud. His cries bring a pack of wolfs. The pack chases them to a mysterious women called Dog-women. According to a story, Dog-women was an angel who did not want to return to heaven, she became Dog-women. She gave fed the children and protected them that night. The next morning she lead them to town. She had also told the children that their mother had stayed with her once, she tells them that their mother did not want to leave them but when to town to look for work. Their mother had also told Dog-women that she wanted to go back for Joe and Annie as soon as she could. Joe does not believe the Dog-women and said that his mother was probably dead which immediately was rebuked by Annie.
At town, Joe tries to earn some money by telling a story at a bar. He succeeds except that his former master was there. Joe flees the bar and with Annie they hitch a ride to the next town. However the man they told the ride with (Barnaby), wanted to sell them in the market as slaves.
However they are saved by a young man named Alan saved them and brought them to traveling fair going to Manchester after hearing that the children wanted to go to Manchester (that where they think their mother is). Flo one of the traveling fair folk instantly takes on a liking of Annie. Annie gets instant attention when she sees the death child of Flo’s. Annie seems like processed by the death childs spirit and acts out portions of the death person life. Honest Bob sees this as an opportunity to get rich while Joe seems to be extremely jealous that Annie is getting all the attention.
While Joe was chasing a boy who was about to steal from the fair, he came upon the street gangs of Manchester city. He meets the gang of the little angels who was being lead by a girl named Quennie. The boy he was chasing turns out to be from that gang. The Little angels attacked him but Joe due to the amount of time he practiced with the sling manages to hold them back. Then the Little Angels were threaten by a more fearsome gang, Joe helps the little angel by slinging stones at the other gang. Together they escape. Joe is then escorted out of the Little Angels hideout to the fair. But that was his first encounter with the street gangs of Manchester.
Joe doesn’t not do well with the traveling fair. He messes things up and the decides to leave. He wants to take Annie with him but Honest Bob paid him a shilling for him to go without her. Joe who is already tired of Annie and considered her a dead weight and who does not know the value of money agrees to leave her there for those that silver coin. Annie finds out that he is leaving and begs him to take her but Joe refuses. He hits her with a stone so that she does not follow him and he flees into the night away from Annie.
Joe joins the little Angel gangs after he rescues one of their members who was captured. He spends his days with his new found gang pick pocketing and stealing. Sometimes fights.
Summer came, and it brought sickness. Esp. to the gangs who did not live in clean places. The little angel gang members were all sick, one of them even died. When the next member show signs of bad sickness, Joe goes to find a doctor. They take the member to a hospital. On the way back Weeks (a member of the other gang that Joe stoned) found them and wanted to get his revenge. He somehow escapes thanks to the sacrifice of the other two members and tell Queenie. She tell him that he cannot follow them to another gang for protection. Joe had to leave
Joe was sick and had fainted. When he awoke he found himself in a rich mans house. He learns that Mr. Mosley had taken him in to care for him. Joe slowly get well again. Mr. Mosley buys new clothes for him and hires a tutor to teach him how to read.
One day, on one of the carriage. A women suddenly runs out and shouts at Mr. Mosley accusing him of taking her children. That night Joe secretly leaves the house and goes visit the place he saw the women. It turn out that there is a secret press there printing illegal newspaper ran by Abel. He learns that Mr. Mosley and his family own almost the whole Manchester, he learns that Mr. M was trying to figure out what could be done about the problem of the poor. Later back at Mr. M house he learns that he was just an experiment to see what will happen to the poor when given the opportunity to improvement. Joe gets angry and attacks Mr. M and then flees.
Joe goes to Abel and helps him in selling his newspaper. One day, an old enemy finds him and wanted to kill him. Joe is saved by Travis. Travis had lost his leg in his travels. Joe takes Travis to Abel and Nell the women he saw from the carriage. He learns form Travis that Annie was missing as Travis saw Honest Bob three weeks ago and Annie was not with them.
Joe is troubled by the news. He and his friends search for Honest Bob to learn the where about of his sister. He learns that his sister refused to eat after he left. They had left her at a hospital.
When Joe sees his sister he cries for the first time in his life. Annie was like redrawn and was completely silent.
A nurse in the hospital tells Joe about a women who has the same necklace Annie has. The nurse tells that Joe’s mother was on her way back to get them, but she was dying when they brought her to the hospital. She gave the nurse that necklace when she knew she was dying. The nurse recalled that Joe’s mother only kept saying Joe - Annie. Annie - Joe.
Joe realized that his mother spirit is taking hold of Annie. He tells his mother he is sorry for leaving Annie and tells her that he understands the reason now why she had to leave him, He tells her that he loves her but that Annie belong with him. He asks her to give Annie back to him. He promises to look after Annie.
Annie suddenly comes out of the trance she was in. She recovers quickly and than is allowed to leave with Joe.
In the end, Abel and Nell marry, they take Joe and Annie as their children. Abel’s newspaper becomes legal and slowly the Manchester town changes. The Mosleys slowly lost power and control. Many cases were brought against work houses, and many were closed down for good.
The novel is inspiring, it speaks of the difference in classes in those day. It show the suffering and oppression of the poor by the rich.
The book openly declares that slavery is unlawful. And that child labor is a terrible crime against human rights.
Even today child labor still exist in many parts of the world. It is time for us to step up to protect these children from being exploited.
”
Arnan K wrote this review Friday, August 1 2008.
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