For the uncountable number of souls held captive in the sex trade. And for the heroic men and women across the globe wroking tirelessly to win their freedom
When I go to the library for this reading challenge, I always pick up books in pairs and the coincidental pairing is always interesting. This book couldn’t get any further from the previous one and yet they both say something about being a female. As you can tell from the dedication (which by the way, is the most admirable yet), this book is about the sex trade and the exploitation of vulnerable women and girls. The story is set in India and it is about two sisters: Ahalya aged 17 and Sita aged 15. Their family and their home are ripped apart by a tsumani and they try to reach their covent school for safety. On their way, they are kidnapped and sold to brothel owners. The story intercuts with another – this one is set in Washington and a lawyer named Thomas Clarke is trying to cope after the death of his infant daughter and his wife leaving him. After a major case he is working on collapses, he decides to take a sabbatical to India and work for an anti-trafficking charity. Whilst at the charity, Thomas hears of Ahalya and Sita’s case and goes on a mission to rescue them. This brings him to various places whilst Sita is sold to various gangs across the world. It is a very harrowing story and contrasts starkly with the fluffiness of the previous book.What makes it more poignant is that you know that even though this story is fiction, similar things are happening around the world. At the end of the story, the author mentions that the fictional charity that he uses in the book is simliar to the International Justice Mission.
What Addison does really well is conveying characters and their clear motivations for them to do what they do. He is very good at creating suspense and kept me on the edge of my seat. He is unforgiving in what he lets happen to these girls but he does it without sensationalising. He was very careful to make it authentic as he says that modern slavery is horrifying enough. This is a very good book, telling a story that needs to be told.
The Reading Marathon 