Bullet Review:

Do not read this book if you are faint of heart. This book will make you want to cry, to tear your hair out in rage, to raise a fist to the hundreds of politicians sitting in cozy offices, ignoring the plea of these commercially sexually exploited girls. Because when you are a 15 year-old African-American runaway from the bad end of town, you aren't a "prostitute". If that girl were a pretty white girl in a middle- or upper-class home in a white neighborhood, you can sure as bet your boots that it would be called statutory rape. But that same girl who can't legally drive, drink or vote can still get charged as an adult for being forced into prostitution? Does no one see the discrepancy here??

At first, I wasn't sure about the style, as Lloyd switches back and forth from her personal story to a non-fiction narrative filled with statistics and details to the stories of girls she's met. But after a bit, I felt the flow. And it was good. Lloyd is a great writer, and her story (and the stories of the girls who have come into her care through GEMS) is a stirring one, one telling those of us in positions of privilege and power to wake up, get off our @$$es and DO something. Again, this is not an easy book to read, but the message is an important one. These girls' voices need to be heard, and we need to work together to do something for them.

P.S. I'm going to be checking out the website, and I suggest you do the same!