Ride or Die

✍ Scribed by Wanda Lauren Taylor

• Publisher: James Lorimer & Company Ltd
• Year: 2018
• Tongue: en-US
• Weight: 53 KB
• Series: SideStreets
• Category: Fiction
• City: Toronto
• ISBN: 1459412672

✦ Synopsis

This novel is based on real-life experiences and events in small town Nova Scotia and Toronto. The story recounts how a 15-year-old Black girl finds herself beaten, emotionally abused, sold to a pimp, and working in the sex trade.

15-year-old Kanika lives a sheltered life with her aunt in Guysborough, a small town in Nova Scotia. But that all changes when her best friend disappears after hanging out with some older boys. While trying to find out what happened, Kanika gets the attention of Danny, an older teen she has always found attractive. After establishing that Kanika is his "ride or die chick" and will do anything for him, Danny sells her into the sex trade.

Kanika is raped and taken to Toronto, where she finds her friend has been a victim of the same sex trafficking plot. The two girls experience the hard and dangerous life of sex workers. Kanika never gives up her plans to escape. With help and strength given by an older girl who is a sex worker by choice, Kanika gets away from the people abusing her and makes her way home.

**

Review

"An important cautionary tale for young-adult readers and a solid option for reluctant readers looking for a realistic page-turner." (Sarah Sawler Atlantic Books Today 2017-09-25)

"Ride or Die 's pacing and design is perfect for reluctant readers — the larger font, short, basic sentences and fast-moving plot will help keep teens turning the pages until they reach the satisfying ending." (Sarah Sawler Atlantic Books Today 2017-09-25)

"The SideStreets Series is a great addition to the canon of Canadian YA literature. In Ride or Die , Taylor takes on the complicated and current story of young teen girls lured by recruiters into the sex trade." (Patricia Jermey, Resource Links 2017-12-22)

"This book could serve as an excellent cautionary tale or a teachable moment for young girls" (Dee P., Librarian NetGalley Reviewer 2018-06-09)

"Every young girl should read this." (Marianne M., Bookseller NetGalley Reviewer 2018-06-10)

"I would have liked to see Kanika go into some sort of therapy when she got home to help her deal with being raped for so long . . . The book was complete and told the story it was supposed to tell, but I wanted more. I wanted to know that everyone was ok, even if they weren't, because it was based on a true story. I needed my worry to be placated so I wouldn't be left to worry about these girls. Taylor not providing that may have been just for space or time. Or it might have been a conscious effort to show that this horror story is not over for most of the girls. It will never be over for some of them. I have to applaud that." (Isaiah Roby NetGalley Reviewer 2018-07-22)

"The main part of the story was quite disturbing, but eye opening and it is easy to see how girls could get caught up in that lifestyle. I read it in one sitting so it was quite gripping and I was desperate to learn if they made it home." (Jo Littlewood, Educator NetGalley Reviewer 2018-02-08)

"The writing is clear and maintains its page-turning pace, prompting the reader to continue ... The sensitive subject is dealt with thoroughly, but at the same time, it is not overly graphic." (Penta Ledger, Teacher-Librarian CM Magazine 2018-01-19)

Book Description

A young Black Nova Scotian teenager survives and escapes after becoming a victim of human trafficking

✦ Subjects

Friendship -- Fiction