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Summary
Summary
Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery, by award-winning author Abby Sher, explores the global issue of human sex trafficking from a survivor's point of view. It recounts the harrowing stories of three courageous women--Somaly Mam, Minh Dang, and Maria Suarez--who were all forced into sexual slavery as children. After escaping their captors, these three women could easily have become voiceless victims, lost to the horrors of their own histories; instead, they have each become leading advocates and activists in the anti-trafficking movement.
With help from Somaly, Maria, Minh, and many other survivors and counselors, Sher tells the riveting story of what it means to be liberated from sexual trafficking and find the trust and conviction to help educate new survivors. Told with breath-taking honesty and simplicity, Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery sends the message that, even in the most tragic circumstances, the unwavering hope and compassion of the human spirit can and will shine through.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-This moving title explores the world of modern day slavery and sex trafficking through three varied stories of women who were forced into sexual slavery but who escaped and are now working to help others in similar situations. Through straightforward, compassionate prose compiled from interviews with her subjects, Sher shows the amazing strength of Somaly Mam, who was taken from her village in Cambodia as a child and ended up in a brothel in Penh Phnom; Minh Dang, who was raped by her father at age three and then prostituted by her parents at 10; and Maria Suarez, a Mexican immigrant tricked into captivity. Dang's heartbreaking story in particular will resonate with readers and remind them how close to home the issue is, as the California teenager lived a double life, attending high school and playing soccer even as she was enduring such violence and abuse. Though these tales are rife with horrors and hardships, each woman's resilience shines through. Before each chapter, Sher includes common misconceptions and real facts about modern-day slavery and sex workers. Back matter includes more information on the topic, such as explanations for why trafficking occurs, a listing of significant moments in the anti-trafficking movement, a list of organizations working against trafficking and abuse, and resources for readers who want to take action. Sher's journalistic narratives will be approachable to struggling readers and serve as an accessible bridge into a subject matter not often discussed. While these emotionally stirring accounts are painful to read at times, Sher manages to avoid sensationalizing her subjects, keeping them human and relatable while appealing to teens' compassion and sense of social justice.-Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The harrowing real-life stories of three girls who turned their experiences as sex-trafficked children into a fight to destroy the practice.This set of brief biographies opens with 9-year-old Somaly Mam in Cambodia around 1979. Sold to a brothel by her ostensible caretaker, Somaly experiences rape, beatings, starvation and punishmentshe is covered in snakes and sewage. Her torments may seem alien to some readers, at least partly due to inadequate contextualization of Cambodia's historical moment (the immediate aftermath of genocide). It's therefore useful that the next story is Minh Dang's in 1990s California; her parents force her into prostitution when she's only 10. Her story seems otherwise so commonplace American (she plays soccer, gets A's in school, and is expected to attend and graduate from college) that the overlap between her experiences and Somaly's seems that much more horrific. The final biography is of Maria Suarez, a Mexican immigrant who's kidnapped, forced into a sexual relationship with an older man, arrested after his death, imprisoned for two decades and nearly deported on her eventual release. The girls' stories could be too devastating to read save for each tale's conclusion, detailing the efforts these women have made to rescue girls and eliminate childhood slavery. Minh Dang is upset when people speak of her as an inhumanly brave heroine; the focus here on activism after suffering may be enough to show the women as people, not victims.Harrowing, yesand inspiring. (glossary, resources, afterword) (Nonfiction. 14-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Sex trafficking, Sher writes, is defined as the act of forcing, coercing, or conning someone into performing any sexual act. The three young women whom she profiles in this sometimes clumsily written but always compelling book have defined this more viscerally with their lives as victims. Proving the problem is international in scope, Sher introduces Somaly Mam, a Cambodian girl who was sold into sexual slavery by a man claiming to be her grandfather. There is also Minh Dang, who grew up in California, where her parents routinely sold her to local brothels. And, finally, there is Maria Suarez, a Mexican immigrant who was held captive and then, to add insult to injury, was incarcerated for a crime she didn't commit. Though occasionally lacking in documentation, their stories are equally harrowing and horrifying but inspiring, as well, for all three, having escaped bondage, have become champions in the antitrafficking movement. Sher sums up the heart of her book in one simple sentence that speaks volumes: We all deserve to be treated as humans, not as property. The lives of these three brave young women are proof positive of that.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Starred Review. In the preface to this remarkable work, Sher (Amen, Amen, Amen) admits that she had no idea of the prevalence of human trafficking around the world and certainly no inkling that it was common in the United States. The author then introduces the girls whose stories form the bulk of the book. Cambodian Somaly Mam, whose life inspired Sher to create this title, was abandoned by her parents when civil war broke out in the country. At first, other villagers took her in, but after an older man told her that he could help her find her parents, she became the man's slave and found herself imprisoned and working in a brothel. Next is the story of Minh Dang, a California child whose parents sell her for sex every day, even after she's in college. Last, Sher covers Maria Suarez, a Mexican girl who, while attending a job interview, was kidnapped into sexual slavery and later wrongly accused of murdering her captor. The stories are accompanied by inserts that describe a myth about slavery and then debunk it and followed by a chapter on related activism, which includes numerous resources for readers who would like to volunteer or otherwise contribute. VERDICT An eye-opening look at an all-too-pervasive phenomenon, this title should be in all public library collections and in academic libraries that support social justice curricula.-Henrietta Verma, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
