Fifteen-year-old Roza thinks she's leaving Albania for better things in the UK. As she arrives, she realises her father has sold her to get out of debt.
Adelina and Jozif Braka now consider Roza their property. They work her hard, beat and starve her, and refuse to let her go out. But she must tell people they are her parents. She runs to the police, but the Brakas produce a forged birth certificate. She is dismissed as attention-seeking and returned to them for punishment.
She doesn't think life can get much worse. However, when she tries to escape, she's sent to a holding house full of other enslaved girls.
This appears to be the first British YA novel to explore child trafficking.
It should appeal to fans of Miriam Halahmy, Anne Cassidy, and Laurie Halse Anderson.
'A riveting read, well researched and very informative about a little known subject... powerful, gritty and engrossing... will attract both teen and adult readers. Essential, compelling, deeply moving.'
- Miriam Halahmy
- ISBN10 1914578007
- ISBN13 9781914578007
- Publish Date 1 February 2023 (first published 30 September 2022)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Cadence Publishing
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 262
- Language English