Demon was born in a trailer to a teenage mother with addiction issues. His father was dead and his future looked anything but bright. In this novel, inspired by Dickens’ David Copperfield, Demon tells his story of survival. He shares candidly, and with an acerbic wit, about his experiences in the foster care system, being forced into child labour, becoming a high school football star, dealing with drug addiction, a life-shattering love, and more.   

I can’t even really articulate what drew me so deeply into this book which makes it tricky to write a review! Yes, it’s a longer book, but it just grabbed ahold of me and wouldn’t let go. I think that’s a testament to Barbara Kingsolver’s writing. Demon felt so real to me and I was just enthralled listening to him tell his story. I have never read David Copperfield, so I didn’t really know what I was getting into, but the depths of the poverty and the gut-wrenching feelings of anger and despair were a wake-up call to what the opioid crisis in southern Appalachia has wrought. I will be thinking about Demon and his story for a long time to come.