Set in Appalachia, this modern retelling of David Copperfield shows the how much the issues of poverty and exploitation that Dickens wrote about are still relevant today. Demon Copperhead is born into extreme poverty. His single, drug addicted mother soon dies, leaving him to a dysfunctional foster care system. Once he escapes from this broken institution, he finds himself in another -- American high school sports. The football team makes him a hero, but ultimately it discards him when he is no longer able to play. From there, the pharmaceutical industry prey on him in his weakened state.

While this plot line seems over-the-top in the retelling, it is believable as told in the novel. In part, this is due to the depth of the characters, each of whom is flawed and therefore realistic. Demon himself makes all the stupid, horrible decisions that young people make. Yet, throughout the novel, we understand that he is a victim of circumstance -- of birth, of institutions, of growing up during the opioid epidemic. Getting this balance right - that one is neither a blameless victim nor completely at fault - is one of the strengths of the novel.