Blog Tour: Trafficked by Sophie Hayes

Title: Trafficked
Author: Sophie Hayes
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publish Date: September 3, 2013 (Paperback)
Source: I received a copy from the publisher; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a non-fiction fan.
• You don't mind tough subjects.
• You're interested in world issues.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "When Sophie Hayes met Bledi she knew he'd change her life – but she had no idea how much. At first, it was a typical whirlwind romance. But one day Bledi told her that love always comes at a price ...

Bledi tricked Sophie into travelling to Italy, where he forced her to sell her body to help him pay off a debt. Terrified and ashamed, Sophie worked the dangerous Italian streets without rest, seeing as many as 30 clients in a night. She was completely at Bledi′s mercy for food, clothes and shelter. And without money, friends or family, she was trapped.

But Sophie found the strength to keep going, clinging to life by a single thread of hope: that somehow she′d find a way to escape."

My Two Cents:

Imagine: you're spending a fabulous vacation in gorgeous Italy with your good friend, who you're beginning to think might even be boyfriend material. You're getting ready to go home but you can't because this guy that you trusted is now forcing him to stay in Italy and to work as a prostitute in order to pay debts that he owes. I would be absolutely terrified. In "Trafficked," this is exactly what Sophie faces.

This book was definitely a page turner for me. Told from Sophie's perspective, we get a front row view to everything that happened to her. It was absolutely terrifying. All I could think about was what if this happened to me or someone I knew. What would I do? I felt for Sophie throughout the entire book. Her situation was unimaginable. She really felt like she knew the guy who forced her into the sex trade well. He seemed nice and like an upstanding guy until he wasn't, which is so scary. I think most of us want to believe that we can easily figure out the people that we can and cannot trust but the truth is anything but black and white.

It's books like these that are difficult to read but really, really important. Sex trafficking is a huge crime in the world and it's one that is incredibly hard to track as many of those who are forced into the sex industry don't know where to turn to get out of it. Like Sophie, they may be brought to a country or another place where they don't know anyone and aren't familiar with how to get help where they are. Like Sophie, they can often be incredibly traumatized by their captures, which may make it less likely that they will seek help! Sex trafficking is an incredibly important subject and this book will be a good introduction into just how devastating the practice is!

Overall, this is a sad story but there is also some hope towards the end of the book!

Follow the Rest of the Tour:

9/7 - Dalene’s Book Reviews

9/9 - Kellyvision

9/12 - A Bookish Affair

9/16 - Bookshipper

9/17 - Contagious Reads

9/18 – A Diary of a Book Addict

9/20 – The Book Cellar

9/21 - Nicky Peacock

9/21 - Bestsellers and Beststellars

9/23 - Chronicles

9/23 - Sweet Southern Home

9/25 – Confessions of a Book Junkie

9/26 - Lady’s Reader’s Bookstuff

9/26 - Daydreams Book Reviews

9/29 - Fictionators