Little Peach by Peggy Kern
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: March 10, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 
When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options.
Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels.
But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition.
This hauntingly vivid story illustrates the human spirit’s indomitable search for home, and one girl’s struggle to survive.
This is such a difficult book to review because I feel like nothing I say is going to do it justice. I’m going to keep this short, because I don’t think I need to ramble on about unimportant things.
Little Peach is a powerful, horrifying, and heart breaking read that tells a story of child prostitution and human trafficking in the USA. It focuses on one girl in particular, Michelle, after she runs away from home and ends up in NYC, but there is also a small cast of other characters.
The story is absolutely incredible, despite being extremely disturbing, because it sheds a lot of light on things that many people, Americans included, like to cover up. People like to pretend that child prostitution and human trafficking isn’t a thing that happens in the good ol’ US of A. They pretend they’re things that happen in third world countries, far removed from their white picket fences. But Peggy Kern is challenging that with Little Peach and bringing it to the light.
I would 100% recommend reading Little Peach, even though it’s going to be a difficult read for many, many people. I think it’s important to raise awareness and to open eyes to the things that are happening so close to your own doorsteps.
I’ve heard such amazing things about this book, despite its dark subject matter. I’ll definitely be looking out for this one.
Please do!
I don’t generally read gritty books so I’m probably going to skip this one, but it sounds like an excellent eye-opening read. Fantastic review!
Thanks Kyra!
I can see how heartbreaking of a read this would be. I’ve read a similar book, called Charmed, by Carrie Mac, and it was both horrifying and eye opening. People like to pretend that issues like this don’t exist in the USA, but they do, and they need to be addressed.
I’m going to look up Charmed! And yes, so many people just brush these issues under the rug. “If I can’t see it, it isn’t happening.” I’m glad more and more people are starting to talk about these things though!