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theblushbookworm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Wow, it’s a mind-boggling experience to read a book with such beautiful prose about a subject so dark. In order to stay off the streets, 17-year-old Kiara is now working on the streets in sex work by first accident, always necessity, and later coercion. Kiara is supporting herself, her older brother, and her neglected 9-year-old neighbor. They all find themselves parentless as a trauma took away Kiara’s mother, death her father, and drugs her neighbor’s mother. The rich tapestry of characters in this book just trying to make it and the often judged “choices” they make to do so is treated with so much care and nuance. This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, and an epic reminder of the humanity of all sex workers and in the inhumanity of some cops.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder