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Review: "Trafficked" by Kim Purcell


From Goodreads:  A 17-year-old Moldovan girl whose parents have been killed is brought to the United States to work as a slave for a family in Los Angeles.

Hannah believes she's being brought from Moldova to Los Angeles to become a nanny for a Russian family. But her American dream quickly spirals into a nightmare. The Platonovs force Hannah to work sixteen-hour days, won't let her leave the house, and seem to have a lot of secrets - from Hannah and from each other. Stranded in a foreign land with false documents, no money, and nobody who can help her, Hannah must find a way to save herself from her new status as a modern-day slave or risk losing the one thing she has left: her life.

My Thoughts:  I have been interested in horrors of human trafficking for some time.  It's hard not to notice when studying Russia and Eastern Europe but it still seems like it's this invisible thing that people don't know about or choose not to know about.  I applaud Ms. Purcell for writing a YA novel aobut human trafficking; maybe by bringing this issue to the attention of young people it will lead to more discussion and more concern about human trafficking and how widespread it is.  There is some sexual content but I still think it would be a good read for older high school students.

Hannah's story is terribly sad; a young girl comes to America so she can work and earn money to help her family and instead she is forced into slavery and abused by those who are supposed to be looking out for her.  Hannah was a great character: incredibily resilient and smart but still naive enough to not know who she could trust.  Lillian and Paavo were such well-written 'bad guys' and I kept thinking throughout the whole book "Jeez, Lillian is one crazy bitch".  The story is fascinating and easy to read though there are times where I just cringed at how bad things got for Hannah.  The book wasn't perfect but I still really enjoyed it.  Whether or not you have any interest in human trafficking and whether or not you are a fan of YA, I highly recommend this book.  4 stars.
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  1. Keegan ShayneMarch 26, 2012 at 7:22 AM

    Thanks for the great Review! It only makes me more excited to read this book! I have really been interested in human Trafficking lately too!

    ~Keegan Shayne

    PS: I would love it if you checked out my review of Slide by Jill Hathaway :)

    http://blabbing-books.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-slide-by-jill-hathaway.html

    ReplyDelete

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