3.5 starsDid I like this? No. Was it well done? MMM... yes. I found the subject very disturbing and perhaps a bit too much graphic sex...but probably only the tip of what goes on in these countries. Was this story heartbreaking? Hell yes! Do we close our eyes to such horrible things? All the time.I have to commend the author for having the nerve to write about this...and as a first book. I appreciated that he portrayed these characters with a numbness, as I think that is what must happen to survive. And I appreciated that our young narrator told stories, to be able to transport herself. Did I believe that there would be a fairy tale...happy ever after ending? No. Do I wish there was? Oh yes.A well written account of child prostitution in the modern world. Horrible. Great storytelling and beautiful word images from a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. Although the subject matter was difficult (child prostitution), Batuk's story was presented in a novel way. The book was more about how she survived by living in her head with her wonderfully inventive stories than it was about her horrid life. I loved everything about this book except the ending. I like clean, tidy wrap-ups, and while I'm pretty sure I know what happened, I just don't like books that end the way this one did. I think this is a book that will stay with me for a long time.
What do You think about Il Quaderno Azzurro (2009)?
A very difficult read and an interesting look at prostitution and forced child prostitution.
—sanusha
The book is well written and absorbing, yet unsettling.
—Billygene
