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snarlet319's review
4.0
So compelling. I don't know why people would treat each other this way, though.
skorned's review
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I heard about Shyima's story from "California, A Slave State" and found her story at once horrible, and fascinating.
Her story of being sold into bondage and forced to work as a slave in Egypt, then trafficked to the US on an illegal visa sounds like its from a Jack Reacher novel of something, but it happened.
This is a book written for teens, which might be why it feels repetitive and simplistic toward the end. I also struggled with the heroic descriptions and portrayal of ICE and police in general. While I'm very glad they did something good here, I find it difficult to uplift the institution as a whole, and find it interesting that she wants to go into police work.
Her story of being sold into bondage and forced to work as a slave in Egypt, then trafficked to the US on an illegal visa sounds like its from a Jack Reacher novel of something, but it happened.
This is a book written for teens, which might be why it feels repetitive and simplistic toward the end. I also struggled with the heroic descriptions and portrayal of ICE and police in general. While I'm very glad they did something good here, I find it difficult to uplift the institution as a whole, and find it interesting that she wants to go into police work.
sarabearian's review
It is hard to believe this story of slavery happened in the past twenty years. An Egyptian girl, Shyima, was raised in poverty, yet happy until her world fell apart and she was sold to a wealthy family to pay a debt and keep family honor. Shyima had a harrowing experience and thought she had no way out of her desperate life until her captors came to the United States and someone, to this day she does not know who did, reported something amiss. It could have been her unkempt appearance at a park watching other children play while she stood by that alerted a concerned citizen, but it saved Shyima’s life. She overcame years of brainwashing, emotional, and physical abuse to be the strong woman she is today and brave to share her story with the rest of the world.
- Lisanne E.
- Lisanne E.
missbradleys_bookcart's review
3.0
I read this because we had a book club set and I wanted some more non-fiction and memoir to book talk. It is a fairly quick read, the vocabulary is accessible and although the content is mature, there is nothing sexual or too mature for a grade 8 or 9 student to read. It did tend to drag on, so if the reader does not engage with the content deeply, they may lose interest. The story starts out in Egypt and then transfers to California so part of the setting may be familiar to readers. Shyima comes from a Muslim family, is sold by a Muslim family, to a Muslim family, so there is a great deal of confusion and anger about religion that is dealt with in the telling of the story. The social justice issue of human trafficking is also one that may interest readers and could connect to other examples happening all over the world.
Although I found the writing to be weak, and I felt the story didn't flow well because of this, Shyima's voice as a language learner who had no early education and who has struggled to find her voice, did shine through. For the right reader, with the right connections, this book could lead to some deep thinking, as there are many terrible examples still happening in the world RIGHT NOW that can be discussed.
Although I found the writing to be weak, and I felt the story didn't flow well because of this, Shyima's voice as a language learner who had no early education and who has struggled to find her voice, did shine through. For the right reader, with the right connections, this book could lead to some deep thinking, as there are many terrible examples still happening in the world RIGHT NOW that can be discussed.
libraryladykati's review
4.0
Amazing nonfiction. I didn't realize slavery still happened in many countries. I read this in a single sitting.
sufferingartist's review
2.0
I hate that I have to give this book only 2 stars, and that is rounding up purely to acknowledge that her story is horrific. It is just a shame that the writing is so unriveting. You’d think a story like this would have made for a more gripping book, but it was just not done well. I went looking Shyima up online to read articles and watch videos about her....and found those to be much more interesting.
simsbrarian's review
2.0
At the age of 8, Egyptian girl Shyima Hall was sold by her parents into slavery. Shyima had been living as one of eleven children in poverty with her family but knew love and happiness. As a modern day slave she toils for her rich captors in Egypt before eventually being dragged to the United States. Finally, in 2001 (after 5+ years of domestic slavery) Shyima is rescued. She spends the rest of the story (from page 77 and the rescue) describing her attempts to find a good foster family, learn English, become American, and work towards becoming an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent (to aid in preventing such slavery).
Anything you didn’t like about it? While the story content is good (Shyima's life is tragic and amazing) the storytelling was very poor. The story did all it could to distance the reader from connecting with the young Shyima, text was very general with very little in the way of even a "This was an normal day" moments and instead lots of "I didn't like The Mom because she yelled at me all the time" so it became repetitive. At times there are what definitely feel like editorial insertions, lines which so clearly break the narrative memoir voice to make a point on faith or patriarchy or the slave trade. It reads very disjointedly and is a shame because it distracts from what could be a really compelling introduction to the concept of this horrible current reality and leaves the reader instead with a rather dry and simplistic recounting of the basics that this young woman could remember of her time as a slave at such a young age.
To whom would you recommend this book? Mostly the text reads at a rather low level so it could be easy for younger readers and is free of much detail so could be a good way to get such a terrible topic/story into the hands of someone younger who is curious about slavery which does still exist in the world.
FTC Disclosure: The Publisher provided me with a copy of this book to provide an honest review. No goody bags, sponsorship, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Anything you didn’t like about it? While the story content is good (Shyima's life is tragic and amazing) the storytelling was very poor. The story did all it could to distance the reader from connecting with the young Shyima, text was very general with very little in the way of even a "This was an normal day" moments and instead lots of "I didn't like The Mom because she yelled at me all the time" so it became repetitive. At times there are what definitely feel like editorial insertions, lines which so clearly break the narrative memoir voice to make a point on faith or patriarchy or the slave trade. It reads very disjointedly and is a shame because it distracts from what could be a really compelling introduction to the concept of this horrible current reality and leaves the reader instead with a rather dry and simplistic recounting of the basics that this young woman could remember of her time as a slave at such a young age.
To whom would you recommend this book? Mostly the text reads at a rather low level so it could be easy for younger readers and is free of much detail so could be a good way to get such a terrible topic/story into the hands of someone younger who is curious about slavery which does still exist in the world.
FTC Disclosure: The Publisher provided me with a copy of this book to provide an honest review. No goody bags, sponsorship, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.