Blog Tour: Trafficked by Kim Purcell + Giveaway!

book cover of Trafficked by Kim Purcell

Title: Trafficked
Author: Kim Purcell
Release date: February 16, 2012
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher

Hannah is an ordinary teenager growing up in Moldova until her parents are killed in a terrorist bombing. While she’s still mourning the loss, she gets an offer that sounds too good to be true: a job as a nanny for a Russian family in Los Angeles.

At first, it seems like her luck has finally turned around, but life with the Platonovs quickly spirals into a nightmare. Lillian, the mother, forces Hannah to work sixteen-hour days cleaning, and won’t let her leave the house. Sergey, the father, is full of secrets. And they refuse to pay Hannah.

Stranded in a foreign land with false documents, no money, and nobody who can help her, Hannah has become a modern-day slave. And the more Hannah unravels this family’s terrible secrets, the more her life—and her family back home—are in grave danger. Desperate and lonely, she reaches out to the boy next door. But in the end, the only one who can save Hannah is herself.

Trafficked is a unique book not just for the YA market but for the fiction market.  It’s a haunting story of a girl looking for a future who instead gets trapped in a nightmare.  Hannah’s story is a very real one that I think should be read by everyone.

Hannah goes to America to earn money to help her grandmother, learn English, and go to school to become a doctor.  She never thinks about herself, only the ones she loves and people she can help.  Even though her trip to America started terribly she doesn’t let if affect her and she looks forward to the opportunities America presents her.  She is brave, kind, funny, and strong.  No matter what happens to her she continues to think of how she can help her grandmother and anyone else who might need her help, including the neighbor boy, Colin.  Hannah’s relationship with Colin doesn’t really develop until close to the end of the book so it’s hard to feel like you know him.  Either way, he is a nice guy who just needs a friend, like Hanah.

The family that Hannah “works” for is not what you would expect.  They are a nice family of four with some dark secrets and quite a few insecurities.  They don’t seem like the type of people who would force a teenage girl to slave for them and that is the scariest part.  On the outside they are just another normal family but on the inside, things are so much darker.

My one complaint is that the book does drag a little.  There are brief spurts of suspenseful chapters and then it goes back to Hannah’s everyday chores.  It got a little dull at times and I sometimes had to force myself through some of the less interesting parts.  Luckily it wasn’t often and the end of the book just killed me.  Those last chapters are impossible to stop reading.

Overall, Trafficked is a heavy story but one that has a great message.  This book is a raw account of one girl’s harrowing ordeal but all throughout there is a little ray of hope that keeps Hannah going.  You must check this one out.

Looking for more reviews of Trafficked?

Giveaway details:
-US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

EMAIL
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
INSTAGRAM
RSS
LINKEDIN
Share

Leave a Reply

51 comments

  1. This is something I wouldn’t have picked up if it weren’t for your review. I will be adding this to my wishlist! This is kind of scary because it seems like something that could actually happen. Thanks for the review!

  2. It is probably right in front of my face, but where do you enter the giveaway? I click on where it says “a Rafflecopter giveaway” but it just takes me to their site.

  3. I think it’s typical for a powerful read to drag in parts. There is so much intensity that sometimes it gets lost in the mix. Sounds like a great and enjoyable read!

  4. Great review Katie! This sounds like a good book about a very important topic that isn’t talked about, especially in YA fiction. I also think that it may be good that it drags a bit – it means that the author isn’t trying to cut corners in telling a powerful story (similar to what Vivien said) and isn’t trying to sensationalize the story. Does that make sense?

  5. I love reading about trafficking. I know it’s not a topic to love, but it really interests me. I found this interest when I’ve first saw the Lifetime movie, Human Trafficking. It wowed me and had no idea this is happening in the world.

    I know I would love this book! Thanks for the review! I agree that trafficking is a heavy topic with a great message. I think many people should be informed about trafficking!

  6. This seems really intense. I had no idea this was still happening until a couple years ago when a group came to my youth meeting one night. It’s horrifying to think about. I’m definitely looking forward to reading this one, especially considering all the research Kim did.

  7. Wow! This book sounds extremely interesting… A modern day slave. It’s amazing, and extremely sad, that things like this still happen 🙁

    I’ll be honest when I say that I haven’t actually read a book of this type before, but it seems really interesting, and I’d love to give it a go!

  8. Great review. I can’t wait to read Trafficked. I already have on my wish list and looking forward to reading. This story deals with the slavery of young women and the hopelessness they feel to get away from the horror. Thanks for the opportunity to enter giveaway.

    misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

  9. This book sounds like a great yet sad book. I hope the book had somewhat of a good ending and thanks for the great review and giveaway.

  10. Thanks for the fabulous review Katie 🙂 !! Trafficked sounds really moving and I’m dying to read it .. Really glad you enjoyed this one !!
    Thank you so much for the giveaway .. I don’t know if it’s international but I’ve entered anyway in case it is 🙂 !!

  11. This sounds like a very heavy subject matter, but I would be very interested in reading it. Like you said, it’s that little ray of hope that keeps you reading 🙂

  12. I am intrigued with the subject matter even if it does sound touchy. It’s these characters that overcome so much that brings a smile to my face!

  13. Wow, this story sounds like it will be a very awarding read. Even in the States people don’t realize that human trafficking is still going on.

  14. I’m OK with heavy books. What I don’t like that it gets too heavy and it became depressing. But by your review on this, I could tell Trafficked would be one of my favourite book=D. Thx for the giveaway!:)

  15. This isn’t a book that I would normally pick up at all. However, you’ve made me want to read it now. It sounds like a story that could just as easily be completely real and that’s heartbreaking. Adding this to my list!

  16. It’s awesome that a YA book filled a niche in the general fiction market that needed to be filled.

    I love how the family exploiting her didn’t seem like the typical mean villains. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

    Haven’t read it but your review got me hooked now 🙂

    Lovely review 🙂