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(2)
YA
The son of a well-connected businessman, Tesfaye leads a life of privilege in 1990s Ethiopia. After his father is arrested, however, a terrified Tesfaye endures a harrowing journey (via human trafficker) to Canada. Tesfaye now faces new dangers alone. Based on a true story, Holler's tale provides a timely refugee narrative driven by its protagonist's intense emotional experience. Tesfaye's eye-opening perspective allows readers to follow him through terror and survival.
417 pp.
| Farrar
| April, 2019
|
TradeISBN 978-0-374-30492-8$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-374-30493-5
(2)
YA
Boston boy Robin (born in Kolkata and adopted by wealthy white parents) joins a service trip to India to help survivors of human trafficking; biracial Kat, temporarily living in Boston following a sexual assault, goes too. Alternating chapters explore Robin's journey to learn more about his birth parents and Kat's healing through helping other victims. Well-rounded secondary characters deliver moments of levity and emotional support for the protagonists.
(3)
YA
No one can know that Jetta's necromantic power animates her family's renowned shadow-puppet shows. When she and her parents must flee--amid a rebellion--they make an unlikely ally in Leo, a young man with his own secrets. A heroine whose supernatural ability and bipolar disorder are both significant, but not defining, characteristics; a vivid world inspired by nineteenth-century South Asia; and an epistolary structure make for a particularly compelling fantasy-romance.
(2)
YA
In 2009 Gujiao, China, teen orphans Luli and Yun labor long, mind-numbing hours at an electronics factory. Then Yun discovers she is pregnant by her shady boyfriend, a suspected bride trafficker. The girls navigate their severely limited options while trying to avoid being fired, fined, or kidnapped. Liu's candid prose and matter-of-fact tone heighten the horror of the harrowing conditions many Chinese women are subjected to daily.
(3)
YA
In a society ruled by animal-human demons, fully human Lei is of the lowly Paper caste. She is stolen from her village to be one of the Paper Girls, concubines of the cruel Bull King (depictions of rape included). Lei reluctantly settles into court life but finds herself entranced by another young woman who shares her fate. A captivating tale with swoony forbidden romance and a rich, Southeast Asian–inspired fantastical world.
376 pp.
| Random
| February, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-1-101-93374-9$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-101-93377-0
(3)
YA
Glitter series.
To escape her ruthless husband King Justin and free her love, Saber, Dani (Glitter) must wield her considerable power as queen, a corporate shareholder, and the palace's drug dealer. But the capacity for manipulation she discovers in herself disturbs Dani. Perfect for fans of The Belles, this series combines guilty-pleasure, page-turning court intrigue and romance with high-stakes ethical questions and an original sci-fi setting.
(3)
YA
Teen twin brothers Cory and Ty Bic, on the lam from their foster family, discover a wrecked car in the wilderness. In the car's trunk is an injured, blindfolded, and bound teenage girl. What ensues is a suspenseful survival story, told in alternating voices and time periods, revealing a tangled web of secrets from the past that continues to threaten the brothers' present and future.
334 pp.
| Tor Teen
| June, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7653-8813-1$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-7653-8814-8
(3)
YA
Seventeen-year-old steeplejack-turned-political-spy Ang (Steeplejack) infiltrates an elite social club to catch a government thief. Her investigation ultimately uncovers a larger refugee-trafficking plot that endangers Bar-Selehm's most vulnerable populations. Hartley blends timely social and political issues with mystery and adventure to create a thoughtfully composed and vividly described quasi-fantasy.
304 pp.
| Cinco
| September, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-1-941026-86-1$16.95
|
PaperISBN 978-1-941026-87-8$11.95
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EbookISBN 978-1-941026-88-5
(4)
YA
Jaya is a transgender boy from a wealthy Gujarati family in Hawaii. Devoted to protecting her siblings, beautiful Rasa is a victim of sex-trafficking. Each protagonist's childhood has been riddled with different kinds of pain and abuse, but their love provides each teen with hope and maybe even a path forward. The romance is ultimately underdeveloped, but Patel's novel tackles difficult issues without flinching.
(1)
YA
Sara Zapata, a reporter in Juárez, Mexico, is determined to find her kidnapped best friend. Her younger brother Emiliano is an entrepreneur on the cusp of success but isn't sure whom to trust. Chapters in this emotional thriller alternate between their perspectives as Stork beautifully explores ties to one's home, Juárez's corruption, the lure of power, and the strength necessary to make change in dangerous circumstances.
Reviewer: Alia Jones
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2017
307 pp.
| Random
| June, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-553-50764-5$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-553-50765-2
(3)
YA
Kidnapped at age eight, Scarlett escaped her captor's basement four years later. Now seventeen, she's working at a superhero-themed amusement park. When one employee disappears and another reminds Scarlett of her fellow prisoner in that basement, Scarlett is forced to confront her past. With impeccable pacing, a touch of romance, and a satisfying, didn't-see-that-coming twist, Panitch's sophomore thriller is completely engrossing.
371 pp.
| Random
| October, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-1-101-93370-1$17.99
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-101-93371-8$20.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-101-93373-2
(3)
YA
In a high-tech-meets-baroque near-future Versailles, Danica has been forcibly betrothed to the brutal young king. To raise funds for her escape, Danica agrees to sell the drug Glitter to courtiers via trend-setting cosmetics and winds up falling for handsome supplier Saber. Explorations of ethics, addiction, self-harm, and human trafficking ground the guilty-pleasure fun of intrigue, fashion, gossip, and steamy romance.
246 pp.
| Disney/Hyperion
| November, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4847-4690-5$16.99
(4)
4-6
Yuming, a contemporary Chinese girl enslaved by a greedy sweatshop owner, and Clara, an American girl whose adopted Chinese sister has recently died, are connected by Yuming's desperate note, stuffed inside a purse found by Clara in a store. Inspired by a real news story, Polonsky sheds light on important issues in a novel that is moving even as the characters' lives intertwine a little too coincidentally.
335 pp.
| Tor Teen
| August, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7653-8094-4$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4668-7620-0
(4)
YA
Taken from a Korean orphanage and trafficked into the U.S., Winter is then rescued to work as a digital stunt girl for Vicarious Sensory Experiences (ViSEs), which records brain impulses during dangerous stunts, wild parties, etc. When a ViSE shows Winter's sister Rose's murder, Winter must untangle the virtual from the real. Readers who can wade through the convoluted techie world-building will enjoy the adrenaline-rich thriller.
(4)
YA
In Tricks, Hopkins gave voice to five teenagers lured into prostitution; in this sequel, each learns to see him or herself as the victim of sex trafficking. Through fears and disappointments, the characters find hope and motivation, and move toward healthier lives. Hopkins's signature free-verse style, frank approach toward addiction and sexuality, and predilection for melodrama are all accounted for.
72 pp.
| Twenty-First Century
| August, 2014
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-4677-1611-6$34.60
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4677-4797-4
(3)
YA
This slim volume takes on human trafficking all over the world, covering debt bondage, forced domestic servitude, the sex trade, organ and adoption trafficking, forced military service, and more. Although the text takes a thorough, businesslike approach to an emotional topic, the frequent "Voices of the Victims" feature and moving photographs humanize the statistics. Reading list, websites. Bib., ind.
(4)
YA
Dark Caravan Cycle series.
Held captive by a powerful human in Los Angeles, upper-caste jinni Nalia agrees to aid Raif, the leader of the rebellion that destroyed Arjinna, in exchange for her freedom from both her master and a deadly Ifrit assassin. Though the story is frequently interrupted by clunky exposition, the lyrical writing, lush setting, and unlikely romance will enchant many readers.
232 pp.
| Simon
| January, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-8168-8$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4424-8170-1
(4)
YA
With Lisa Wysocky. This memoir focuses on modern child-slavery smuggling. Native Egyptian Hall (born Shyima Hassan) recounts how her poor family sold her at the age of eight to a family who then moved to the United States, where she was fortunate enough to be rescued by child services. Although dry and sometimes uneven, this is an important, moving story of a disturbing worldwide issue.
(3)
YA
Razaq's mountain home in Pakistan is destroyed in an earthquake, and the fourteen-year-old boy is sold into slavery when he thinks he's being offered a job. His search for his uncle and his relationship with enslaved girl Tahira keep his spirit alive, even while he's being mercilessly exploited in many ways (including sexually). A powerful, moving account of modern slavery. Reading list, websites.
216 pp.
| Abrams/Amulet
| April, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4197-0896-1$16.95
(1)
4-6
Preus takes readers to mid-nineteenth-century Norway in a tale strongly infused with myth. Fourteen-year-old Astri is determined to go to America. First she must escape the brutish goat herder to whom her greedy aunt and uncle have sold her. Norwegian folktales are seamlessly integrated into the lyrically narrated story, which features a protagonist as fearless as any fairy-tale hero.