Author: Peggy Kern
Genre: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Source: Edelweiss
Publisher: Balzer & Bray / Harperteen
Publication Date: March 10th 2015
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Summary:
What do you do if you're in trouble? When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options. Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels. But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition. This hauntingly vivid story illustrates the human spirit’s indomitable search for home, and one girl’s struggle to survive.
Review
I never felt so sick as a read something in my life. This story didn't suck, it was really good. But the subject matter? It is a real eye opener. Little Peach is short, only 200 pages, but it is packed with the terrible reality for some young girls in large cities.
Michelle is fourteen years old when her mother tells her to leave, to find some place more stable to live. With her best friend gone, and her grandfather dead Michelle leaves the only home she ever known. When she arrives in New York with no plan she meets a mysterious stranger named Devon who says he can help her. Michelle is skeptical but she accepts, not knowing what else to do now. That night Michelle is taken advantage of and learns quickly that she is in more then she can handle. When she wakes up the next morning in pain and unsure of what happened Devon informs her of her new life. She will serve the men that Devon her "Daddy" sends to her.
I inhaled this book in two hours. As sick as it made me I had to keep reading. I needed to know the outcome. We are introduced to Kat and Baby. Baby is only twelve years old, Kat closer to Devon's age (so I assume) Who both seem pretty comfortable in this life they have with Devon. Though Michelle knows this life is wrong she falls quickly in routine with her new life. During the day they eat, sleep, and do what ever and at night they go to the hotel where Devon will send men for them.
Peggy touched on a very sensitive subject matter and twisted it into a dark tale. Little Peach is a big eye opener in a matter that I never thought much about before. I do hope people won't be afraid to pick up this book and read it. It is worth the time. There is so much more that I can say about this novel that won't even give it justice. This is something you need to pick up and read. Heart breaking, eyeopening, dark Little Peach is something that you will keep thinking about long after you've read it cover to cover.
Review:
I've heard many great things about this novel, I'm glad you really liked it though - I think I might request this one now, Thanks for the lovely review :) x Benish | Feminist Reflections
ReplyDeleteIt is defiantly worth the read. There is so many feels. I still keep thinking about it and it has been two weeks since I've read it. Thank you!
DeleteWoah. That sounds really intense and hard-hitting. Just reading the synopsis made my stomach roll a little bit. But I'm intrigued. I want to know how it all turns out. And I want to see how the author handles such a subject. Because we tend to think of human trafficking / sex trafficking / sex slavery as something that happens somewhere else, certainly not here in the land of the free. But, in reality, it does happen in the United States, too. It happens all over the world. And it's not always these men stealing girls out of their homes under the cover of night. Sometimes they go willingly or feel as though they don't have a choice.
ReplyDeleteWow. I suppose you could say I'm interested in this a bit. I really like books that take on subjects most others would touch with a ten foot poll. But I also hold those books to a higher standard because they have to tell the story right.
Thanks for a great review. This one probably wouldn't have hit my radar had I not read this today. : )
Jessie Marie Reads
I'm very glad this has hit your radar now. I'm pushing this book so hard currently
DeleteWow, it sounds like a very tough subject matter but I feel like it's a book I really ought to give a try!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Amber!
Yess! Then we must discuss it. So good!!
DeleteI heard nothing but awesome things about this novel but I'm one of those people who's usually afraid of picking up books with such a tough subject. They can ruin me for days and that's not exactly optional. Despite this I think I'll read this book because while we all know that child prostitution more than exists it's not a subject that makes it to the news, nor one that people consider the most important issue in our world. Plus it might make me sad for days but there are people who actually go through this so my reason for not reading it is kind of pathetic.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! :)