Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall
Another book that I bought earlier this week. I was intrigued by the cover, so I read the back, and then I knew I had to have it. This is a memoir of a girl (now grown woman) who was sold into slavery when she was eight years old.
Shyima was the seventh of eleven children, growing up in poverty in Alexandria, Egypt. When she was eight, one of her older sisters, who worked for a wealthy family in Cairo, stole from her employers. Rather than call the authorities, the wealthy family decided that Shyima could work off her sister's debt. They treated her terribly, slapped her, and called her stupid. After about two years, they relocated to the United States, and took Shyima with them. They continued to treat Shyima badly, and then, one day when she was approximately 13, she was rescued. She went into the foster care system in California, and was eventually adopted.
Obviously, the book goes into more detail than that, but that's all you need to know going in. My heart broke for this girl, but then cheered when she was rescued. It opened my eyes to human trafficking and slavery in a way that I might never have known about if I hadn't read this book.
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