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jennifrencham's review
3.0
Hall, Shyima. Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave.
Shyima Hall was born in Egypt, a middle child in a very large, very poor family. Her parents sold her into slavery to repay her sister's debt. She worked for a rich family for several years, even moving with them to the United States when they sold their house in Egypt. She only has time to eat one meal a day, never goes to school, and sleeps about four hours a night. Eventually someone calls Child Protective Services, which leads to Shyima's rescue and the incarceration of her captors.
I wanted to give this book a full five stars because this is a topic that is too-rarely addressed, but Shyima's retelling of the five years she spent as a child slave and her recovery afterward was just too clinical and detached. The writing was very dry, and I found myself skimming much of the last third of the book, just so I could be done. This book certainly fills a niche in juvenile/young adult literature, but it would be great if it were more readable.
Recommended for: young adults, tweens
Red Flags: Shyima is slapped and called stupid; she briefly mentions childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her brother, but it isn't graphic or explicit
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars
Read-Alikes: [b:Sold|201114|Sold|Patricia McCormick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406601568s/201114.jpg|3231932]
Shyima Hall was born in Egypt, a middle child in a very large, very poor family. Her parents sold her into slavery to repay her sister's debt. She worked for a rich family for several years, even moving with them to the United States when they sold their house in Egypt. She only has time to eat one meal a day, never goes to school, and sleeps about four hours a night. Eventually someone calls Child Protective Services, which leads to Shyima's rescue and the incarceration of her captors.
I wanted to give this book a full five stars because this is a topic that is too-rarely addressed, but Shyima's retelling of the five years she spent as a child slave and her recovery afterward was just too clinical and detached. The writing was very dry, and I found myself skimming much of the last third of the book, just so I could be done. This book certainly fills a niche in juvenile/young adult literature, but it would be great if it were more readable.
Recommended for: young adults, tweens
Red Flags: Shyima is slapped and called stupid; she briefly mentions childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her brother, but it isn't graphic or explicit
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars
Read-Alikes: [b:Sold|201114|Sold|Patricia McCormick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406601568s/201114.jpg|3231932]
shgmclicious's review
The thing about reviewing books that are true stories of brutal, horrendous experiences is that basically no one allows you to critique the BOOK because they think you are invalidating, delegitimizing, or diminishing the pain the author experienced. And that's not fair or true. This book tells a compelling story, to be sure, but I found the writing style and voice inconsistent (probably because it's as-told-to) and awkward a lot of the time. That's not to say I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone interested in social justice or human trafficking or anything like that, but literary marvel, it's not.
kristinamath's review
5.0
Although I have not read many, this is the best non-fiction I have ever read. It was written in such a beautiful and strong way, I could actually feel her pain and anger. She is such an inspiration, and I wish her the best of luck with her family and future. There isn't much else I can say about this book, except that I recommend this to any reader.
Full review:
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/01/hidden-girl-review.html
Full review:
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/01/hidden-girl-review.html
roxydaf's review
5.0
I am speechless at what this book describes
It's the raw reality of what people suffer through and how there are spectators who enable this abuse by not saying anything either to the authorities or the abusers. It shows how the system fails and harms children day and night and how inhumane and cruel of an environment they get to grow up.
This is a book that I would like more people to read in order to pay more attention to our surroundings, it goes to show how much a little bit of concern of a stranger can help a person in need.
When I first read this I was a teenager and it changed my way to view things around me, can certainly say it impacted me a lot in a good way.
It's the raw reality of what people suffer through and how there are spectators who enable this abuse by not saying anything either to the authorities or the abusers. It shows how the system fails and harms children day and night and how inhumane and cruel of an environment they get to grow up.
This is a book that I would like more people to read in order to pay more attention to our surroundings, it goes to show how much a little bit of concern of a stranger can help a person in need.
When I first read this I was a teenager and it changed my way to view things around me, can certainly say it impacted me a lot in a good way.
jmack491's review
1.0
The only reason why I finished this is because it was incredibly easy to read. So little of the story was actually about her life as a child slave, it almost felt like false advertising. And honestly, aside from the fact that her parents didn't seem to care much about her one way or the other, it was hard to feel bad for Hall. For a girl who had such a tough childhood, she grew up to be kind of a brat. And then to end with her dropping out of college and having a baby? I just don't know how this story is inspiring enough to warrant a book. Sorry, Hall -- I ain't feelin' it.
rapple's review
3.0
Hidden Girl is a very eye opening and enlightening memoir. Hall's writing style is very precise and to the point which at times resulted in a very bland narrative. While I'm glad I read this memoir I feel it would have benefited from some further details about her experiences while enslaved. I frequently found myself skimming passages or entire chapters because of the writing style and never became fully engaged with the narrative.
nadiaescritora's review against another edition
4.0
El relato que nos cuenta Shyima es terrible, así como también pensar que en nuestra realidad, una cosa como esa puede sucederle a un niño que no entiende nada de la vida. Sin embargo, como bien nos cuenta, esta realidad es cotidiana para la gente de escasos recursos situada en Egipto.
Shyima nació en Egipto, en el seno de una familia carenciada y numerosa, con un padre violento y algunos hermanos abusivos. Ella no entendía que aquellas cosas que le hacían estaban mal, aunque las sentía de esa forma. Mudándose de un lado para otro, durmiendo en el suelo, todos apretados, así vivía Shyima hasta que un día tuvo que pagar por el error de una de sus hermanas.
Zahra había sido acusada de haber robado en la casa donde estaba prestando "sus servicios", así que, para saldar su deuda y el honor de su familia, vendieron a Shyima a sus captores, a quienes en toda la novela se refiere a ellos como la Mamá y el Papá. Nos cuenta que por el tiempo que ella estuvo con ellos, su familia recibía cerca de diez dólares. Trabajaba 18 horas, los siete días de la semana
El relato que nos devuelve nos mete en toda la humillación de la que fue víctima, en el dolor y la desesperación del cautiverio. Pero, por suerte, gracias al llamado de una persona que la vio en circunstancias sospechosas, la rescataron. Esto sucedió cuando ella ya se encontraba en los Estados Unidos (a sus diez años), lejos de su familia y con la barrera del idioma, que le dificultaba mucho entender todo lo que sucedía a su alrededor.
La novela nos cuenta su travesía y cómo logró salir de ella. El mensaje, a pesar del tema, es esperanzador, porque ella nunca bajó los brazos y siempre intentó sobrevivir. Las secuelas de años y años de humillaciones, no se borran, y cuenta que tiene problemas de confianza. Pero que, gracias a la vida, pudo rodearse de amigos a quienes llama su familia por elección.
Shyima nació en Egipto, en el seno de una familia carenciada y numerosa, con un padre violento y algunos hermanos abusivos. Ella no entendía que aquellas cosas que le hacían estaban mal, aunque las sentía de esa forma. Mudándose de un lado para otro, durmiendo en el suelo, todos apretados, así vivía Shyima hasta que un día tuvo que pagar por el error de una de sus hermanas.
Zahra había sido acusada de haber robado en la casa donde estaba prestando "sus servicios", así que, para saldar su deuda y el honor de su familia, vendieron a Shyima a sus captores, a quienes en toda la novela se refiere a ellos como la Mamá y el Papá. Nos cuenta que por el tiempo que ella estuvo con ellos, su familia recibía cerca de diez dólares. Trabajaba 18 horas, los siete días de la semana
El relato que nos devuelve nos mete en toda la humillación de la que fue víctima, en el dolor y la desesperación del cautiverio. Pero, por suerte, gracias al llamado de una persona que la vio en circunstancias sospechosas, la rescataron. Esto sucedió cuando ella ya se encontraba en los Estados Unidos (a sus diez años), lejos de su familia y con la barrera del idioma, que le dificultaba mucho entender todo lo que sucedía a su alrededor.
La novela nos cuenta su travesía y cómo logró salir de ella. El mensaje, a pesar del tema, es esperanzador, porque ella nunca bajó los brazos y siempre intentó sobrevivir. Las secuelas de años y años de humillaciones, no se borran, y cuenta que tiene problemas de confianza. Pero que, gracias a la vida, pudo rodearse de amigos a quienes llama su familia por elección.
thatlibrarynerd's review
This was a weird book to read and realize midway through that I really didn't like the author as a person. Of course I respect her trauma and admire her ability to be so open about what she's gone through. But she's also judgmental and hypocritical.
An example. The book repeatedly addresses how Muslim men specifically used religion as an excuse to be domineering... and then throws in this really unnecessary piece about abstinence that had no bearing on the story. It's hard to respect someone who objects when religion is used to try to control her, yet feels it's justified to try to push her religious-influenced beliefs on others.
Also, she talks about how as a result of her trauma, she couldn't trust unreliable people. Okay... but the description of "unreliable" people felt extremely ableist. This could have been fine. She could have explained that she gets anxious or it's just something she could handle. Instead it reads like she maintains this set of standards and can't be around people who aren't good enough.
I'm not always going to agree with people whose books I read, and that's fine. Her cop worship made complete sense, for example. But a judgmental, mean-spirited hypocrite? Maybe the final nail in the personality coffin is how she kept saying "I couldn't understand how people could be..." Not just when writing about her childhood, it's like she literally never developed empathy and doesn't see that as a flaw.
I can be sorry for what someone went through and still never want to meet them.
...I thought I was done, but some additional thoughts about the book itself.
It pays attention to the wrong things? Feels like it spends more time explaining the dresses she wore to junior and senior proms than the fact that her foster parents stole from her.
The fact is, this reads like a summary. It very, very rarely feels immediate or describes specific instances. As a result, it can feel flat and drawn-out.
I've noticed that with a lot of crime-and-recovery stories (in this case, from the victim's perspective), the book will be split in half. Half crime, half recovery. Because the recovery bit is so vague in its goal, it often feels meandering and takes a talented writer to remain engaging. Sadly no talented writers were involved in the creation of this book.
An example. The book repeatedly addresses how Muslim men specifically used religion as an excuse to be domineering... and then throws in this really unnecessary piece about abstinence that had no bearing on the story. It's hard to respect someone who objects when religion is used to try to control her, yet feels it's justified to try to push her religious-influenced beliefs on others.
Also, she talks about how as a result of her trauma, she couldn't trust unreliable people. Okay... but the description of "unreliable" people felt extremely ableist. This could have been fine. She could have explained that she gets anxious or it's just something she could handle. Instead it reads like she maintains this set of standards and can't be around people who aren't good enough.
I'm not always going to agree with people whose books I read, and that's fine. Her cop worship made complete sense, for example. But a judgmental, mean-spirited hypocrite? Maybe the final nail in the personality coffin is how she kept saying "I couldn't understand how people could be..." Not just when writing about her childhood, it's like she literally never developed empathy and doesn't see that as a flaw.
I can be sorry for what someone went through and still never want to meet them.
...I thought I was done, but some additional thoughts about the book itself.
It pays attention to the wrong things? Feels like it spends more time explaining the dresses she wore to junior and senior proms than the fact that her foster parents stole from her.
The fact is, this reads like a summary. It very, very rarely feels immediate or describes specific instances. As a result, it can feel flat and drawn-out.
I've noticed that with a lot of crime-and-recovery stories (in this case, from the victim's perspective), the book will be split in half. Half crime, half recovery. Because the recovery bit is so vague in its goal, it often feels meandering and takes a talented writer to remain engaging. Sadly no talented writers were involved in the creation of this book.
bookyjes's review
3.0
Well, I didn't realize that this book was written for a YA audience. Maybe it wasn't, now that I think about it, but the language was careful and basic so I assumed it's target audience was children.
I would let children read this. Absolutely.
Regarding Shyima's story, the book covers the emotional trauma of slavery really well. I enjoyed that we were given a lot of post rescue information to show varying levels of healing from her experience.
I would let children read this. Absolutely.
Regarding Shyima's story, the book covers the emotional trauma of slavery really well. I enjoyed that we were given a lot of post rescue information to show varying levels of healing from her experience.