They Called Me Red

By Christina Kilbourne format: young adult softcover publication: September 2008 ISBN: 9781897073889

Price $10.95 Quantity This item is in stock and usually ships within 24 hours.

It wasn't the perfect life, but it was their life - Devon's and his dad's. They were there for each other. He wasn't prepared for Lily to come along and enchant his father with her giggles and shy glances. Devon has a bad feeling about this new woman who seems endearing one minute, ice cold the next, but his dad is hooked, and Lily moves in. When Devon's father suddenly falls ill, and doctors can't find the problem, Lily insists that they travel to her native Vietnam, where her uncle can treat him. Once in her family's tiny apartment, Lily forces Devon away from his father, and makes him drink some musky tea that is supposed to calm him. It is only when Devon wakes up in a locked room that he begins to realize his suspicions about Lily weren't nearly as horrific as who she really is, and what she has done. Within days, Devon finds himself locked up in a different location, with three other boys. Through hushed conversations in broken English and Vietnamese, Devon learns that he is now the property of a restaurant-owner named Long, and that he has been transported to Cambodia. As the nightmare worsens, the reality that this restaurant doubles as a brothel sets in. Because of his fiery red hair and freckles, Long is able to demand a higher price for him, and her costumers start a bidding war. With the memory of his father and his old life keeping him from complete despair, Devon manages to hope for escape or rescue. Back home, those close to Devon refuse to believe Lily's lies about him running away in Vietnam, and an international search effort begins. Once found, the challenges continue, as Devon faces a new life without his father, and a new identity molded by unspeakable memories. Through the words of a young boy comes a story of heartbreak, survival against all odds, and ultimately, hope, which will open readers' eyes to an evil practice that is present in many countries around the world.

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