Wednesday, November 25, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: Little Peach by Peggy Kern

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. 

The saddest part about this book is that stuff like this happens. Girls run away from home for one reason or another and then these men lure them into prostitution and they feel there is no way out. The story of Michelle was so incredibly sad and heartbreaking. It made me sad and it made me angry. I cried throughout most of the book at what Michelle was going through. Michelle is in the hospital after being severely beaten up. The story goes between her experience in the hospital and her history and how she became a prostitute. Michelle's story is so sad because she just wants someone who loves her, someone who wants her. Her own mother kicks her out of the house because she is afraid Michelle will steal her boyfriend. Michelle's grandfather is the one person in the world that she can count on, but then he dies. She leaves for New York City, originally to meet a friend, but she is unable to find this friend. Instead, she finds Devon, a pimp who lures her into prostitution. Michelle is so naive that she doesn't realize what's happening when there is alcohol and drugs and strange men. All she knows is that these men want her and she pretends to enjoy everything so that Devon (or "Daddy," as he is called) won't be disappointed with her. What really made me angry was the way the nurse's treated Michelle while in the hospital. They treated her like she deserved everything she got because she was a prostitute. They just wanted to get her out of the hospital so they could use the bed for "real" patients. I loved the social worker though. She seemed genuinely concerned about her and wanted to help. The ending left a lot open, but I get why the author made the decision she did. Asking for help was the hardest part of Michelle's situation and her story was not going to end there. This was a horrifying story that needed to be told to help people understand what life is like for some of these girls. 

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one!! 

6 comments :

  1. This looks so intense! It sounds like an important story, but I can imagine how difficult it is to read!

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    1. Thanks Lisa! It was a very hard book to read, but very important for sure.

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  2. This is so, so true. Everything you've said is absolutely spot on. It broke my heart, because it IS accurate, and I hated that it was. But this book is also absolutely necessary, because of the accuracy! Fabulous review, and I don't even want to say "I'm glad you liked it", because I assume you did NOT like it. You probably hated it, which was the point. It's weird when you hate a good book, isn't it?
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Shannon, yeah I HATE saying how much I liked it because I really didn't, if you know what I mean (of course you do!). I was crying for so much of the book because it was so powerful. I hated the storyline, but man, it was handled so incredibly well. I loved reading about just how much research went into it by the author. I am so glad that she did not handle this heavy topic lightly.

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  3. I really want to read this one, because these girls rarely get a voice outside of the "slut" character in books, to make the pure MC look even better. I feel like I owe these MCs a chance to tell their story, because not all of us are lucky enough to have security when we are children.

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    1. Lyn, you are so right! I didn't have the best childhood but reading a book like this made me realize how good I had it. I just can't imagine having a parent kick you out of the house and then having to make these kind of decisions so you can survive. It was such an important story!

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