The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
In 1972, journalist Geraldo Rivera exposed the shocking conditions at Willowbrook State School, an institution for disabled children on Staten Island, New York. The horror that was uncovered—overcrowding, physical and sexual abuse, insanitary conditions—is a matter of public record and has been featured in more than one documentary. Now Ellen Marie Wiseman’s powerful new novel will bring awareness to a whole new audience.
Sage Winters is a sixteen-year-old girl, living with her neglectful stepfather, when she learns that the identical twin sister she believed was dead for the past six years is actually alive, but has gone missing from the Willowbrook State School. It’s 1971, and Willowbrook is already notorious: the kind of place an adult will threaten an unruly child with, where they may end up if they don’t behave. But when Sage sets out to look for her sister herself, she has no idea of the danger she’s getting into. She soon finds herself trapped inside the school and it’s clear she will be lucky to escape Willowbrook in one piece—if at all.
Although overall there is a young adult/coming-of-age feel to the story, with all the action firmly rooted in Sage’s sixteen-year-old point of view, Wiseman doesn’t shy away from the truth about conditions at Willowbrook, and some of the descriptions are harrowing to read. The mystery of her twin’s disappearance and Sage’s determination to find the truth keep the pages turning, particularly in the latter stages of the book. Grounded in historical fact, it ends like a fast-paced thriller. A comprehensive author’s note at the end is well worth the read.
