Dear Charles Dickens, Love South LA. Literature, Place, and Belonging. By Jacqueline Jean Barrios. (2026)

Dear Charles Dickens, Love South LA. Literature, Place, and Belonging. By Jacqueline Jean Barrios. Iowa City, IA: Univ of Iowa Press, 2026. 8vo. 344pp., illust., index. Color illust wraps, New. Quoting a review by John Jordan, Co-Founder of the Dickens Project at UC Santa Cruz. "As its title suggests, this book is something of a testimonial or love letter from a group of South LA high school students about learning to read and engage productively with the long-form nineteenth-century English novel, especially the novels of Dickens. It is also a sophisticated and practical first-hand account by the brilliant teacher who guided her students on this journey. In Dear Charles Dickens, Love South LA, Jacqueline Barrios develops a compelling rationale for what she calls ‘emplaced reading’ that enables readers to bring together their own experiences with the worlds of canonical Victorian fiction.” John O. Jordan.