Sold

Fifteen-year-old Roza thinks she’s leaving Albania for better things in the UK. But her dad has sold her.

She’s told she’ll stay with her wealthy relatives and get a good education in exchange for light housework.

But when she arrives, she realizes this is a lie. Her father has sold her to get out of debt. These people consider her their property. And they treat her as such. They work her hard, beating and starving her and refusing to let her go out. But she must tell people they are her parents. When Roza runs to the police, her captors show them a forged birth certificate. She is dismissed as attention-seeking and returned to them for punishment.

Before Roza left Albania, her teacher told her about a man she could go to for help if she ever needed it, but she was too excited to pay attention. Now, she can’t remember his name or address. He is somewhere in North London, but that’s a huge place.

She doesn’t think life can get much worse, but when she escapes, she discovers she’s wrong.

Every year an estimated 300,000 children worldwide are taken by traffickers and sold as slaves. But this novel is one of the first to talk about it.

It should appeal to fans of Miriam Halahmy, Anne Cassidy, and Julia Green.

A YA adventure about child trafficking. Suitable for anyone over 12.