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Dirty Work by Julia Bell
Feb. 23rd, 2008 02:12 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Money doesn't buy happiness. Hope may be spoilt, but her ut-of-touch mum doesn't get her. In fact, as far as Hope's preoccupied parents are concerned, she's hopeless.
Oksana doesn't have a mum. And her dad and brother are miles away, left behind in Russia. She thought the West would offer a better life - instead, sold into prostitution, she lives at the mercy of dirty men. Hopeless doesn't even begin to describe the bad dream her life has become.
Oksana and Hope are thrown together in the most terrifying circumstances imaginable; their only real chance of survival lies with each other. But how do two girls with so little in common find a way to meet in the middle ...?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Ultimately, this is a missed opportunity, which is a shame. Bell's central message that prostitution only happens to girls from other countries left an unpleasant taste in my mouth and I didn't find Hope to be an engaging or sympathetic enough character to take me through the horrors. This is a shame, because the Oksana sections are well written and credible and I think this was a book that has the potential to be an emotionally hard-hitting work.
Money doesn't buy happiness. Hope may be spoilt, but her ut-of-touch mum doesn't get her. In fact, as far as Hope's preoccupied parents are concerned, she's hopeless.
Oksana doesn't have a mum. And her dad and brother are miles away, left behind in Russia. She thought the West would offer a better life - instead, sold into prostitution, she lives at the mercy of dirty men. Hopeless doesn't even begin to describe the bad dream her life has become.
Oksana and Hope are thrown together in the most terrifying circumstances imaginable; their only real chance of survival lies with each other. But how do two girls with so little in common find a way to meet in the middle ...?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Ultimately, this is a missed opportunity, which is a shame. Bell's central message that prostitution only happens to girls from other countries left an unpleasant taste in my mouth and I didn't find Hope to be an engaging or sympathetic enough character to take me through the horrors. This is a shame, because the Oksana sections are well written and credible and I think this was a book that has the potential to be an emotionally hard-hitting work.
