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Dime by E R Frank
The realities of teen prostitution are revealed in this eye-opening, heartbreaking story from the author of America, which Booklist called "a piercing, unforgettable novel" and Kirkus Reviews deemed "a work of sublime humanity."
As a teen girl in Newark, New Jersey, lost in the foster care system, Dime just wants someone to care about her, to love her. A family. And that is exactly what she gets-a daddy and two "wifeys." So what if she has to go out and earn some coins to keep her place? It seems a fair enough exchange for love.
Dime never meant to become a prostitute. It happened so gradually, she pretty much didn't realize it was happening until it was too late.
But when a new "wifey" joins the family and Dime finds out that Daddy doesn't love her the way she thought he did, will Dime have the strength to leave? And will Daddy let her?
As a teen girl in Newark, New Jersey, lost in the foster care system, Dime just wants someone to care about her, to love her. A family. And that is exactly what she gets-a daddy and two "wifeys." So what if she has to go out and earn some coins to keep her place? It seems a fair enough exchange for love.
Dime never meant to become a prostitute. It happened so gradually, she pretty much didn't realize it was happening until it was too late.
But when a new "wifey" joins the family and Dime finds out that Daddy doesn't love her the way she thought he did, will Dime have the strength to leave? And will Daddy let her?
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First published May 26, 2015
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About the author
E.R. Frank
8 books90 followersE. R. Frank is the author of two highly praised novels for Atheneum: America and Friction. Her first novel was Life Is Funny, winner of the Teen People Book Club NEXT Award for YA Fiction and was also a top-ten ALA 2001 Quick Pick.
In addition to being writer, E. R. Frank is also a clinical social worker and psychotherapist. She works with adults and adolescents and specializes in trauma.
In addition to being writer, E. R. Frank is also a clinical social worker and psychotherapist. She works with adults and adolescents and specializes in trauma.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
June 1, 2015
This book is going to save real Dimes by sitting quietly on the library shelf and holding acres of real pain and strength inside it for anybody who needs it. Dime's love of literature is what will keep this book on the shelf and on the awards lists, even though the horrifying details of these girls' lives will bring censors around. A wonderful, honest and useful book for kids (and former kids) who read in order to survive.
June 5, 2015
Read this, and then tell someone else to read this. It is important.
January 4, 2015
I normally don't watch the news because I tend to get hooked on a headline or tragedy and become obsessed. This book has catapulted me into the world of human trafficking, and now I can't stop researching it.
A thirteen year old foster child lives with her foster mother and foster brothers and sisters. She goes to school, where she enjoys reading and returning home to help with the babies. But the stress of the children causes her foster mother to turn to drinking which makes life a little darker for our friend Dime. Men are starting to come over more often and Dime finds they are pushing their boundaries with her. She finds herself alone and looking for something or someone to help her, to want her, and she finds just that. She finds a family with a "Daddy" and two "Wifeys". She finds what she thinks is love and support but it all crumbles quickly when she is told she too must earn her stay and is sent out to the streets. Dime is quickly brainwashed and finds no other options. Where will she go? How can she leave? How did this happen?
This book is so intense and emotional, I couldn't out it down. This book comes from a 10 year break from writing and E.R. Frank has not lost her touch. She reaches into the depths of real life hell for these victims and retells their story so carefully.
A thirteen year old foster child lives with her foster mother and foster brothers and sisters. She goes to school, where she enjoys reading and returning home to help with the babies. But the stress of the children causes her foster mother to turn to drinking which makes life a little darker for our friend Dime. Men are starting to come over more often and Dime finds they are pushing their boundaries with her. She finds herself alone and looking for something or someone to help her, to want her, and she finds just that. She finds a family with a "Daddy" and two "Wifeys". She finds what she thinks is love and support but it all crumbles quickly when she is told she too must earn her stay and is sent out to the streets. Dime is quickly brainwashed and finds no other options. Where will she go? How can she leave? How did this happen?
This book is so intense and emotional, I couldn't out it down. This book comes from a 10 year break from writing and E.R. Frank has not lost her touch. She reaches into the depths of real life hell for these victims and retells their story so carefully.
October 8, 2015
I can't say I enjoyed this book, because of the subject matter, but it was very well written. It especially hit me hard because my daughter is about the same age as Lollipop, and I just can't wrap my head around what she, Dime, Brandy, and L.A. went through and how they lived. Dime tugged at my heartstrings. Usually I don't like open endings where everything is not neatly tied up and explained, but for this book, it worked. In a book that was weighed down by loneliness and sadness, it ended with a burst of hope.
December 13, 2015
I plowed through this book with equal parts intrigue and disgust because (from what little I know), all of ER Frank's real-life job has led her to produce a realistic portrayal of teenage prostitution. A young girl who has a titch of hope in her love of reading is lost in the foster care system and happens upon a pimp, Daddy, who plays her like a fiddle: gaining her trust and showing her the 'good life' only to send her back to her foster situation that allows her to think that what he can provide for her at the stable is the best for her.
What looks like simple housework to help the other girls, becomes her eventual 'relationship' with Daddy who manipulates her with a sickening predatory attitude. The girls in the stable all fight and argue based on their roles, there is as much about the behind-the-scenes life include the unsatisfied pimp who looks for make more money by buying a few Russian girls that he must leave because they haven't been broken and instead gets a young girl who ends up pregnant.
While the reading trope is a bit hokey, it does bring the book full circle and I was sentimentally roped into an emotional response . And am endeared when the last chapter reflects the need for more outreach and presence on the streets as Dime, contemplating suicide for much of the book, is holding the card of help. And the reader knows that she would take it as she made the first step in her last decision to do right.
The most fascinating aspect of the story was how Frank moves the book along with italicized narrations of how sexy or money or truth would write the letter/tell the story. I enjoyed the element and it cut the sheer destruction readers are feeling when peering into the lives of these trapped girls.
So necessary to read and share.
What looks like simple housework to help the other girls, becomes her eventual 'relationship' with Daddy who manipulates her with a sickening predatory attitude. The girls in the stable all fight and argue based on their roles, there is as much about the behind-the-scenes life include the unsatisfied pimp who looks for make more money by buying a few Russian girls that he must leave because they haven't been broken and instead gets a young girl who ends up pregnant.
While the reading trope is a bit hokey, it does bring the book full circle and I was sentimentally roped into an emotional response . And am endeared when the last chapter reflects the need for more outreach and presence on the streets as Dime, contemplating suicide for much of the book, is holding the card of help. And the reader knows that she would take it as she made the first step in her last decision to do right.
The most fascinating aspect of the story was how Frank moves the book along with italicized narrations of how sexy or money or truth would write the letter/tell the story. I enjoyed the element and it cut the sheer destruction readers are feeling when peering into the lives of these trapped girls.
So necessary to read and share.
April 21, 2017
A well written, difficult, disturbing and edgy read.
This book is tragic and incredible. It contains an accurate description about the horrors of modern day prostitution. The characters are well developed and very believable.
It is simple. This novel needs to be read.
This book is tragic and incredible. It contains an accurate description about the horrors of modern day prostitution. The characters are well developed and very believable.
It is simple. This novel needs to be read.
January 8, 2018
oh god. this book was a rollercoaster. in a good, heavy, terrifying sense. i think it’s definitely something everyone should read.
January 15, 2016
For some reason I stayed up till two in the morning to finish this one. I think it's because I just wanted to get it done so I wouldn't have to pick it up again in the daytime, rather than being really engrossed in the story.
There really isn't all that much in the way of a story here. The narrator, whom we only ever know by her street name Dime, is fourteen and on the outs with her long-term foster mother, who has taken to drinking to cope with her sadness at having to give back the babies in her care; Janelle, the foster mother, is much more attached to and attentive toward the babies and toddlers than she is to the older kids. Wandering the streets of Newark, New Jersey, Dime meets prostitute L.A., who takes her home to the apartment she shares with her pimp, called Daddy. Dime immediately fancies herself to be in love with Daddy, who is happy to let her stay at his place for a few weeks, not requiring anything of her but that she help L.A. and his other girl, Brandy, with housework. Then he sends her back to Janelle, whose drinking has gotten worse, and Dime soon flees back to Daddy.
Predictably, if slowly, Dime figures out that L.A. and Brandy work for Daddy and she tells him she doesn't want to take up their trade. Daddy promises she will not have to ... but eventually he begins dropping hints about expenses mounting up and possibly having to send Dime back to Janelle's. He also insists to the lovestruck Dime that he will not sleep with her unless she is willing to "contribute" to the household. And so Dime agrees to turn tricks, and her downward spiral begins.
Dime despises the work, and her relationship with Brandy and L.A. is an uneasy one; Brandy is only a couple years older than Dime but much more experienced, and though she generally is a friend to Dime, she isn't above a bit of jealousy and when there is trouble in the house, she looks out for herself first even if it means Dime gets unfairly punished. Daddy makes it clear from the start that he will not play referee in the girls' arguments, so there's no help there.
L.a. is in her early twenties and is, rather oxymoronically, the Bottom Bitch, meaning she is Daddy's second-in-command and is in charge when he isn't available. She has a mean streak and is openly jealous of Dime.
The story moves along slowly and shifts back and forth between the time when Dime is just starting to work for Daddy and the present, when she is faced with a serious dilemma. Daddy is ambitious and has connections down south, and tries to make a deal with some Russians to acquire a couple of Russian prostitutes to add to his stable. His plans are altered when he learns the Russian girls have not yet been "turned out" so he leaves them in North Carolina for the time being, to work for underlings, and instead buys an eleven-year-old girl known as Lollipop. Lollipop has been a victim all her life and is an established and very profitable Internet webcam presence. Brandy, L.A. and Dime are all deeply disturbed at the new turn Daddy's enterprise has taken, and more so when they realize that Lollipop is pregnant, and that Daddy has big plans for her baby.
Daddy assigns Dime, whom he has always proclaimed is the smartest of his girls, to help deliver Lollipop's baby, with Brandy as her assistant, after which the baby is to be sold back down south. But L.A., unbeknownst to everyone except Dime, who overhears her making plans, has teamed up with a rival pimp and one of the Russian associates to sell the baby to a contact in Philadelphia.
And Dime finally realizes the gravity of the situation, and decides to put her own plan into action.
The problems with this book are:
1. Slow pacing. Things moved along slowly and with a lot of repetition for a good portion of the book. Granted, the lives of Dime and her fellow prostitutes would be monotonous, but in fiction you need to cut out some of the monotony; this is a case where it is all right to do a bit more telling and less showing.
2. Dime's obsession with books is a bit trope-y. She risks punishment to leave her assigned tasks, not to see old friends or get help for herself, but to go to the library. Early on she even makes mention of wanting to reread Macbeth. This is an eighth-grader who has done poorly, D's and F's, in school for years. Though she is intelligent, I find the idea of her rereading Macbeth to be a bit much. And her fascination with the notoriously difficult "The Color Purple" too; that's a book I was unable to make much headway with as an adult. Also, Daddy has various ways of holding on to his girls and keeping them in line. L.A. has seniority and hopes eventually that Daddy will take her down south and make her his real wife. Brandy is grateful to him because he helped her kick a serious heroin habit and continues to help keep her sober. And Dime? He flatters Dime's intelligence and actually allows her to continue going to school. This girl going faithfully to school every day and flipping tricks by night just doesn't ring true; I would expect Daddy to not want her to go to school, or anywhere that somebody might notice something was off and start asking questions.
3. Lollipop. Once she arrives, the plot thickens so much and moves so much faster it feels unreal. It's as if Frank suddenly got the feeling she couldn't have a hundred more pages of Dime doing the same thing and thinking the same thoughts and she better move this thing along, and ended up cramming as much depravity and drama into the last part of the book as possible.
4. The ending. After the book plodded along for so long, and then sped up like a runaway train, it screeched to a stop with little warning and no resolution. I was left with the feeling that I had just wasted all the time I'd spent getting to the end, because the end was so abrupt and unfinished. We don't know what Dime did after she abandoned the baby where else? on the steps of the damn library; she had planned to then jump off a bridge, but when she took her coat off in preparation, she found the business card of a get-off-the-street program Brandy had found out about some time earlier; it was apparently Brandy who hid the card in an inside pocket of Dime's coat ... a zippered pocket Dime had never noticed before despite having owned the coat nearly a year. So we can assume Dime didn't jump, but what next? And Lollipop? Nothing there either; last we see her, Dime has helped her give birth and cleaned her up and then she just leaves her in her motel room. Does Dime tip somebody off so Lollipop can be rescued? No answer, no conclusion. Just a squeal of brakes and a terrible lurch and we stop cold, nearly derailing in the process.
I understand that the subject of child prostitution is a heavy one and there aren't any easy answers in real life, but this was fiction, and if Frank was willing to go to the trouble to research and write this, she should have at least worked the ending out a little more, because it almost seemed she didn't give as much thought to it as the rest of the book.
There really isn't all that much in the way of a story here. The narrator, whom we only ever know by her street name Dime, is fourteen and on the outs with her long-term foster mother, who has taken to drinking to cope with her sadness at having to give back the babies in her care; Janelle, the foster mother, is much more attached to and attentive toward the babies and toddlers than she is to the older kids. Wandering the streets of Newark, New Jersey, Dime meets prostitute L.A., who takes her home to the apartment she shares with her pimp, called Daddy. Dime immediately fancies herself to be in love with Daddy, who is happy to let her stay at his place for a few weeks, not requiring anything of her but that she help L.A. and his other girl, Brandy, with housework. Then he sends her back to Janelle, whose drinking has gotten worse, and Dime soon flees back to Daddy.
Predictably, if slowly, Dime figures out that L.A. and Brandy work for Daddy and she tells him she doesn't want to take up their trade. Daddy promises she will not have to ... but eventually he begins dropping hints about expenses mounting up and possibly having to send Dime back to Janelle's. He also insists to the lovestruck Dime that he will not sleep with her unless she is willing to "contribute" to the household. And so Dime agrees to turn tricks, and her downward spiral begins.
Dime despises the work, and her relationship with Brandy and L.A. is an uneasy one; Brandy is only a couple years older than Dime but much more experienced, and though she generally is a friend to Dime, she isn't above a bit of jealousy and when there is trouble in the house, she looks out for herself first even if it means Dime gets unfairly punished. Daddy makes it clear from the start that he will not play referee in the girls' arguments, so there's no help there.
L.a. is in her early twenties and is, rather oxymoronically, the Bottom Bitch, meaning she is Daddy's second-in-command and is in charge when he isn't available. She has a mean streak and is openly jealous of Dime.
The story moves along slowly and shifts back and forth between the time when Dime is just starting to work for Daddy and the present, when she is faced with a serious dilemma. Daddy is ambitious and has connections down south, and tries to make a deal with some Russians to acquire a couple of Russian prostitutes to add to his stable. His plans are altered when he learns the Russian girls have not yet been "turned out" so he leaves them in North Carolina for the time being, to work for underlings, and instead buys an eleven-year-old girl known as Lollipop. Lollipop has been a victim all her life and is an established and very profitable Internet webcam presence. Brandy, L.A. and Dime are all deeply disturbed at the new turn Daddy's enterprise has taken, and more so when they realize that Lollipop is pregnant, and that Daddy has big plans for her baby.
Daddy assigns Dime, whom he has always proclaimed is the smartest of his girls, to help deliver Lollipop's baby, with Brandy as her assistant, after which the baby is to be sold back down south. But L.A., unbeknownst to everyone except Dime, who overhears her making plans, has teamed up with a rival pimp and one of the Russian associates to sell the baby to a contact in Philadelphia.
And Dime finally realizes the gravity of the situation, and decides to put her own plan into action.
The problems with this book are:
1. Slow pacing. Things moved along slowly and with a lot of repetition for a good portion of the book. Granted, the lives of Dime and her fellow prostitutes would be monotonous, but in fiction you need to cut out some of the monotony; this is a case where it is all right to do a bit more telling and less showing.
2. Dime's obsession with books is a bit trope-y. She risks punishment to leave her assigned tasks, not to see old friends or get help for herself, but to go to the library. Early on she even makes mention of wanting to reread Macbeth. This is an eighth-grader who has done poorly, D's and F's, in school for years. Though she is intelligent, I find the idea of her rereading Macbeth to be a bit much. And her fascination with the notoriously difficult "The Color Purple" too; that's a book I was unable to make much headway with as an adult. Also, Daddy has various ways of holding on to his girls and keeping them in line. L.A. has seniority and hopes eventually that Daddy will take her down south and make her his real wife. Brandy is grateful to him because he helped her kick a serious heroin habit and continues to help keep her sober. And Dime? He flatters Dime's intelligence and actually allows her to continue going to school. This girl going faithfully to school every day and flipping tricks by night just doesn't ring true; I would expect Daddy to not want her to go to school, or anywhere that somebody might notice something was off and start asking questions.
3. Lollipop. Once she arrives, the plot thickens so much and moves so much faster it feels unreal. It's as if Frank suddenly got the feeling she couldn't have a hundred more pages of Dime doing the same thing and thinking the same thoughts and she better move this thing along, and ended up cramming as much depravity and drama into the last part of the book as possible.
4. The ending. After the book plodded along for so long, and then sped up like a runaway train, it screeched to a stop with little warning and no resolution. I was left with the feeling that I had just wasted all the time I'd spent getting to the end, because the end was so abrupt and unfinished. We don't know what Dime did after she abandoned the baby where else? on the steps of the damn library; she had planned to then jump off a bridge, but when she took her coat off in preparation, she found the business card of a get-off-the-street program Brandy had found out about some time earlier; it was apparently Brandy who hid the card in an inside pocket of Dime's coat ... a zippered pocket Dime had never noticed before despite having owned the coat nearly a year. So we can assume Dime didn't jump, but what next? And Lollipop? Nothing there either; last we see her, Dime has helped her give birth and cleaned her up and then she just leaves her in her motel room. Does Dime tip somebody off so Lollipop can be rescued? No answer, no conclusion. Just a squeal of brakes and a terrible lurch and we stop cold, nearly derailing in the process.
I understand that the subject of child prostitution is a heavy one and there aren't any easy answers in real life, but this was fiction, and if Frank was willing to go to the trouble to research and write this, she should have at least worked the ending out a little more, because it almost seemed she didn't give as much thought to it as the rest of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2016
Interesting book and a very exciting ending. Not at all a book that I would have ever picked up on my own but I enjoyed the way it was written and also all of the literary references made by Dime. Looking forward to discussing this one with my book club!
January 31, 2017
Perhaps I should have foreseen how this book would make me feel when I told a friend what book I was reading next. "Ehhhhh," she said, showing all her teeth. It was tough, as a privileged white girl, to read just what is a truth about living as a po ho. My constant emotion was anguish.
November 9, 2020
This was a BRUTAL read. It was so good, and I could not look away, but it was also so, so, so hard to read. The characters and the interactions make you sick, and sad, and conflicted. And they also, sometimes, give you a little hope.
Yet again, I find myself writing a review on a book that I didn't mean to pick up and read. I put this book on hold at the library ages ago and it finally came in. I had it for a few weeks, without ever actually cracking open the cover, and then realized it was due to go back to the library. I opened it up, expecting a non-fiction read, and was VERY surprised by the story I ended up being drawn into. This was phenomenal.
I'm beginning to think that maybe I should always go into my reads blind.
Yet again, I find myself writing a review on a book that I didn't mean to pick up and read. I put this book on hold at the library ages ago and it finally came in. I had it for a few weeks, without ever actually cracking open the cover, and then realized it was due to go back to the library. I opened it up, expecting a non-fiction read, and was VERY surprised by the story I ended up being drawn into. This was phenomenal.
I'm beginning to think that maybe I should always go into my reads blind.
February 5, 2020
This is an absolutely wonderful book that gets real about sex/human trafficking without getting too graphic. The book is told from Dime’s point of view, a teenager who gets pulled into the life of turning tricks with a pimp. It’s clear the author researched this topic and they site some sources in the back of the book. I thought the start was a little slow and confusing as I didn’t grasp the time jump right away. The ending was beautiful though and while it didn’t answer everything, I think it gives readers the answers they need.
Read
October 27, 2016Dime, LA, Brandy, & Lollipop are not your typical "Daddy's" girls. They are all young women and girls forced into prostitution to bring home Daddy's coins. They are put out in the afternoon and don't come home until they earn Daddy's quota.
LA is the oldest and thinks she'll be the one to marry Daddy, after all, she's been with him the longest and he lets her handle the coins. She also thinks nothing of abusing the other girls and trying to cause friction in the house. LA recruits Dime, barely a teen, with promises of friendship and belonging. Daddy spends a lot of time with Dime, secretly telling her she's beautiful and his favorite. Daddy slowly uses guilt to convince Dime to "volunteer" to work on the street with LA and Brandy. Dime would now do anything Daddy asked since she loves him so much and he loves her. The only escape from her grim reality on the streets is the books she loves and her tenuous friendship with Brandy. After a road trip resulting in Lollipop joining the group, Dime figures out that she's being played and desperately tries to compile a note to pass to the right person at the right time who might somehow help her find a way out of Daddy's slavery.
Dime takes a disturbingly raw look into the horrors of human trafficking of young children and teens. The author cites non-fiction research sources and also provides resources for those needing help or wanting to learn more about the subject. As a result, the depiction of the daily lives of the young girls in the story is unnervingly realistic and frankly, not for every young adult. The subject matter contains violence, sexual situations, and general adult content. The maturity level of the reader should be considered when choosing this title. Aside from it's raw presentation, the importance of the narrative is in the circumstances leading children to fall victim to the offerings of master manipulators. These men, or "Daddy's", promise love, security and belonging to children living in troubled situations. In many cases, girls come from the foster system. These girls are lonely, insecure, naive and very, very vulnerable; making the simplest gift or act of kindness mean the world. Girls are recruited using the promise of what is lacking in their life as bait. New clothes, regular food, a place to live, or simply a kind word can be enough to send a vulnerable child into a lifetime of slavery and abuse.
A tough read but recommended for mature teens, as well as adults, wishing to gain insight into the proliferation of human trafficking. "An important work that should be an essential part of library collections" (School Library Journal - Starred Review March 2015)
~Denise F
Click the link below to find the book and check availability at the Prince William County Public Library System:
http://librarycatalog.pwcgov.org/pola...
LA is the oldest and thinks she'll be the one to marry Daddy, after all, she's been with him the longest and he lets her handle the coins. She also thinks nothing of abusing the other girls and trying to cause friction in the house. LA recruits Dime, barely a teen, with promises of friendship and belonging. Daddy spends a lot of time with Dime, secretly telling her she's beautiful and his favorite. Daddy slowly uses guilt to convince Dime to "volunteer" to work on the street with LA and Brandy. Dime would now do anything Daddy asked since she loves him so much and he loves her. The only escape from her grim reality on the streets is the books she loves and her tenuous friendship with Brandy. After a road trip resulting in Lollipop joining the group, Dime figures out that she's being played and desperately tries to compile a note to pass to the right person at the right time who might somehow help her find a way out of Daddy's slavery.
Dime takes a disturbingly raw look into the horrors of human trafficking of young children and teens. The author cites non-fiction research sources and also provides resources for those needing help or wanting to learn more about the subject. As a result, the depiction of the daily lives of the young girls in the story is unnervingly realistic and frankly, not for every young adult. The subject matter contains violence, sexual situations, and general adult content. The maturity level of the reader should be considered when choosing this title. Aside from it's raw presentation, the importance of the narrative is in the circumstances leading children to fall victim to the offerings of master manipulators. These men, or "Daddy's", promise love, security and belonging to children living in troubled situations. In many cases, girls come from the foster system. These girls are lonely, insecure, naive and very, very vulnerable; making the simplest gift or act of kindness mean the world. Girls are recruited using the promise of what is lacking in their life as bait. New clothes, regular food, a place to live, or simply a kind word can be enough to send a vulnerable child into a lifetime of slavery and abuse.
A tough read but recommended for mature teens, as well as adults, wishing to gain insight into the proliferation of human trafficking. "An important work that should be an essential part of library collections" (School Library Journal - Starred Review March 2015)
~Denise F
Click the link below to find the book and check availability at the Prince William County Public Library System:
http://librarycatalog.pwcgov.org/pola...
October 1, 2015
I absolutely loved the main characters of this story (aside from Daddy). I do believe this is a topic to be explored. However, I did not like how the story was told. I felt like I was going through the abuses of these poor girls while I read it.
With a little bit of hope stirred into this book, it would have received 4 stars.
With a little less of the 'books save lives' theme, it would have received 4 stars.
With a different format (knowing she was going to be ok, and then telling the story in hindsight) I could have palated the abuses better.
I forced myself to finish, and threw the book down in disgust afterward.
I recommend reading Sold by Patricia McCormick instead.
With a little bit of hope stirred into this book, it would have received 4 stars.
With a little less of the 'books save lives' theme, it would have received 4 stars.
With a different format (knowing she was going to be ok, and then telling the story in hindsight) I could have palated the abuses better.
I forced myself to finish, and threw the book down in disgust afterward.
I recommend reading Sold by Patricia McCormick instead.
December 22, 2015
This is hard to rate. It's not a book that I necessarily "like", but it's incredibly well done. Frank did a masterful job at making a rough, horrible subject accessible to ages 14 and up. The language was well done and very believable. Dime is a character that I'll remember. I didn't notice the face in the "D" on the cover, until I was looking at the cover small on goodreads. Going on my 2015favorites shelf for the moment, but I'm not sure it'll stay there. 3 1/2 stars.
I'd nominate it for Cap Choices, but I'm not sure that it'll even stay in my top 20 14+ tiles for the year, so I guess it doesn't make much sense. It's down to 16 now.
I'd nominate it for Cap Choices, but I'm not sure that it'll even stay in my top 20 14+ tiles for the year, so I guess it doesn't make much sense. It's down to 16 now.
December 5, 2016
Book Club read - A beautifully written, heartbreaking book about the horrific life of child prostitutes and the business of human trafficking. Fourteen year old Dime, is swallowed up by life, desperate to be cared for, and finds her only solace in books and the characters she finds there. I particularly loved the nod to 'The Book thief', as Dime imagines her story told not by Death, but by Sex, by Money and as the danger of her situation increases, by Truth. I'm glad that what could have been a purely depressing read, ends with a moment of hope....
September 17, 2015
Really Good! shows how easily a young girl can be swept into prostitution. very graphic and disturbing, but real. one that stays with you
June 16, 2021
Here’s what this book is about:”As a teen girl in Newark, New Jersey, lost in the foster care system, Dime just wants someone to care about her, to love her. A family. And that is exactly what she gets—a daddy and two “wifeys.” So what if she has to go out and earn some coins to keep her place? It seems a fair enough exchange for love. Dime never meant to become a prostitute. It happened so gradually, she pretty much didn’t realize it was happening until it was too late. But when a new “wifey” joins the family and Dime finds out that Daddy doesn’t love her the way she thought he did, will Dime have the strength to leave? And will Daddy let her?”
I just finished reading this book and I liked it. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it at first because it talks about human trafficking and prostitution so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read about it but I liked the writing style. I found it very interesting. I thought it was very interesting. This book wasn’t easy to read at times. I felt bad for Dime and the other girls in this situation. This book mentioned that Dime liked reading books and she mentioned books that she liked reading. I also like how this book ended.
I just finished reading this book and I liked it. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it at first because it talks about human trafficking and prostitution so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read about it but I liked the writing style. I found it very interesting. I thought it was very interesting. This book wasn’t easy to read at times. I felt bad for Dime and the other girls in this situation. This book mentioned that Dime liked reading books and she mentioned books that she liked reading. I also like how this book ended.
February 16, 2019
There was a time when men were kind When their voices were soft And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind And the world was a song And the song was exciting
There was a time Then it all went wrong I dreamed a dream in time gone by When hope was high
And life worth living I dreamed that love would never die I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid And dreams were made and used and wasted There was no ransom to be paid No song unsung No wine untasted But the tigers come at night With their voices soft as thunder As they tear your hopes apart As they turn your dreams to shame He slept a summer by my side He filled my days with endless wonder He took my childhood in his stride But he was gone when autumn came And I still dream he'll come to me That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be And there are storms we cannot weather! I had a dream my life would be So different from this hell I'm living So different now, from what it seemed Now life has killed the dream I dreamed (I dreamed a dream)
There was a time when love was blind And the world was a song And the song was exciting
There was a time Then it all went wrong I dreamed a dream in time gone by When hope was high
And life worth living I dreamed that love would never die I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid And dreams were made and used and wasted There was no ransom to be paid No song unsung No wine untasted But the tigers come at night With their voices soft as thunder As they tear your hopes apart As they turn your dreams to shame He slept a summer by my side He filled my days with endless wonder He took my childhood in his stride But he was gone when autumn came And I still dream he'll come to me That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be And there are storms we cannot weather! I had a dream my life would be So different from this hell I'm living So different now, from what it seemed Now life has killed the dream I dreamed (I dreamed a dream)
June 8, 2017
This book was terrifying and heartbreaking, and the worst part of it all is that although the book is fiction, this is reality for so many young girls and women in the world. Even though it was incredibly difficult to read, I thought it was a very well-written story. Obviously, I loved Dime's love of literature and the ways reading provided her an escape from the horrors she was living. I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but I did like that it ended on a hopeful note.
March 27, 2019
I finished this book in a few hours on a work day. That’s how good and quick it is. It is absolutely heart wrenching and definitely an issue occurring world wide that needs to be solved. I could not put this book down. The characters are so well written and the book definitely left you wanting and hoping for more.
February 3, 2018
Damn. First of all, this book is chock-FULL of triggers, my HSP friends. Worth it (if you can hack it) for the fact that it opens your eyes to the brutal and horrifying world of teen human trafficking. Real and harsh and honest, you won't be able to look away after reading this.
April 28, 2020
This book will haunt me for a long time. It is not an easy read, it is even less of an easy read knowing this is a YA book. But real life isn’t easy and Dime’s story needs to be heard. This book is about child trafficking and underage prostitution. About the men that run it, about the kids that get trapped in it. About shattered innocence and horrible, horrible people who will pay money to do unforgivable things to a child. I pray that Dime’s story can save others.
August 19, 2019
So well-written, this book is a quick read. I loved Dime, and was routing for her the whole time. It’s hard to say that I loved the book because the subject is so disturbing, without being graphic. I’ll sleep better now that’s finished.
March 29, 2019
really enjoyed
Absolutely loved the ending! I did not see that coming at all! Would def recommend and it was a wonderful choice for our book club! This will make for an excellent discussion once we get together
Absolutely loved the ending! I did not see that coming at all! Would def recommend and it was a wonderful choice for our book club! This will make for an excellent discussion once we get together
Read
October 18, 2019the book is now one of my favorite books it was really intresting
April 20, 2015
Though this is fiction, it’s not for the faint of heart. A horrific, utterly realistic look at the tragedy that is the sex-trafficking industry.
Dime is the fictional story of a thirteen-year-old foster child who thinks she’s been rescued by Daddy when he gives her a REAL winter coat with pockets and promises, promises, promises. Dime is quiet and observant; she listens and sees. And she can read. As she experiences what it means to be one of Daddy's girls, she is allowed to go to the library--but for what a price! Ultimately, books lead to her self-sacrifice and salvation from slavery.
Written from the point of view of Dime as she struggles to write the last letter she will ever write, sometimes she writes as Money (a quick fifty then maybe an hour of sleep before her 1 a.m.), sometimes as Truth (the girl mouthed, "help me"). And it is in Truth that Dime finds her strength.
In flawless writing, the reader exists inside Dime's head, witnessing eight-year-olds stolen, traded, and trained well by Big Ray; taking in her realizations, emotions, and her systematic compartmentalizing of the things her brain can and cannot hold at one time. (WhatWhatWhat?)
Observant, quiet, yet always perceiving, Dime carefully crafts a plan to save an unborn child. An unborn child born to eleven-year-old Lollipop, who Dime is to deliver as doctor-in-charge, in the hotel bathroom. During the nine-month pregnancy, Dime plans and watches. And when the time finally comes, you will be unable to put the book down.
Not only do our thoughts linger with Dime months after finishing the book, but it is through ground-breaking, powerful characters and books like Dime that knowledge will spread and perhaps spark change to end the abomination that is the sex trade.
Ultimately satisfying, this is one for discussion, especially among high-school students. Be warned, this book is disturbingly graphic in places, but it has stirred in me a consuming anger. What kind of person knowingly participates and perpetuates the destruction of innocence?
"If anyone causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." Mt 18: 6-7
In response to hearing of recent news in MY STATE’S SEX TRAFFICKING INDUSTRY, and hearing the testimony of those who have been involved in the sex-trafficking industry, I have been compelled to feature this book on this day, this book that has haunted and remained with me since I read it in one sitting after first receiving the ARC.
Releasing May 2015, unforgettable, timely, thought-provoking, realistic, revolutionizing, read this book and share it. Raise your voice and do something. Even just praying:
"Please be with all those who suffer, especially those who suffer helplessly at the hands of man. May their suffering be short and Your Justice swift." -Amen and Amen.
See more of my reviews at childressink.com.
Dime is the fictional story of a thirteen-year-old foster child who thinks she’s been rescued by Daddy when he gives her a REAL winter coat with pockets and promises, promises, promises. Dime is quiet and observant; she listens and sees. And she can read. As she experiences what it means to be one of Daddy's girls, she is allowed to go to the library--but for what a price! Ultimately, books lead to her self-sacrifice and salvation from slavery.
Written from the point of view of Dime as she struggles to write the last letter she will ever write, sometimes she writes as Money (a quick fifty then maybe an hour of sleep before her 1 a.m.), sometimes as Truth (the girl mouthed, "help me"). And it is in Truth that Dime finds her strength.
In flawless writing, the reader exists inside Dime's head, witnessing eight-year-olds stolen, traded, and trained well by Big Ray; taking in her realizations, emotions, and her systematic compartmentalizing of the things her brain can and cannot hold at one time. (WhatWhatWhat?)
Observant, quiet, yet always perceiving, Dime carefully crafts a plan to save an unborn child. An unborn child born to eleven-year-old Lollipop, who Dime is to deliver as doctor-in-charge, in the hotel bathroom. During the nine-month pregnancy, Dime plans and watches. And when the time finally comes, you will be unable to put the book down.
Not only do our thoughts linger with Dime months after finishing the book, but it is through ground-breaking, powerful characters and books like Dime that knowledge will spread and perhaps spark change to end the abomination that is the sex trade.
Ultimately satisfying, this is one for discussion, especially among high-school students. Be warned, this book is disturbingly graphic in places, but it has stirred in me a consuming anger. What kind of person knowingly participates and perpetuates the destruction of innocence?
"If anyone causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." Mt 18: 6-7
In response to hearing of recent news in MY STATE’S SEX TRAFFICKING INDUSTRY, and hearing the testimony of those who have been involved in the sex-trafficking industry, I have been compelled to feature this book on this day, this book that has haunted and remained with me since I read it in one sitting after first receiving the ARC.
Releasing May 2015, unforgettable, timely, thought-provoking, realistic, revolutionizing, read this book and share it. Raise your voice and do something. Even just praying:
"Please be with all those who suffer, especially those who suffer helplessly at the hands of man. May their suffering be short and Your Justice swift." -Amen and Amen.
See more of my reviews at childressink.com.
August 26, 2015
At 13 years of age, Dime's life has already taken a series of unfortunate turns. She lives in an over-crowded foster home, which isn't great to begin with. Things get even worse when Dime's foster mother starts drinking again. Dime now has to stay home from school to help around the house while dodging the advances of her foster mother's sketchy new boyfriend. In a fit of anger, Dime flees the house. While sitting out on a cold street corner, Dime meets a girl who temporarily loans her the winter coat she's wearing. This girl, Brandy, tells her about her "Daddy", a man who takes care of her and buys her nice things. Dime is intrigued and eventually leaves her foster home to go and live with Daddy. Over the course of time, Daddy convinces Dime that she's his special girl. He buys her the nicest things she's ever owned. He doesn't make her skip school. He tells her that she's better than the other girls that live in the apartment with them. It's only a matter of time before Daddy's asking Dime to start working so that she can "help" Daddy make ends meet. She must either work the streets or forgo Daddy's attentions. Dime doesn't like being a prostitute, but she does love Daddy and she's willing to do whatever he asks in order to stay with him. It isn't until he brings in an 11-year-old girl called Lollipop that Dime begins to suspect Daddy's intentions for the first time.
Dime is a gritty tale of teenage prostitution. It seems hard to fathom the circumstances that would draw a 13-year-old into this dangerous world, but Frank weaves a chillingly realistic tale. Dime is naive, insecure and neglected. Other pimps use drugs to lure their girls in and keep them, but Daddy uses a different tactic. Daddy preys on young girls from rough homes; he takes advantage of their weaknesses in order to exalt himself in their eyes. Dime adores Daddy and will literally do anything for him until her own status is threatened. It's a dismal state of affairs, but these circumstances are not unique in reality. As the novel progresses, so to does Dime's awareness of her situation and that of the girls she shares an apartment with. In spite of everything she goes through, Dime shows a tremendous amount of growth and strength as she struggles to come up with a plan of action to right at least a few of the wrongs she's witnessed.
Dime is a gritty tale of teenage prostitution. It seems hard to fathom the circumstances that would draw a 13-year-old into this dangerous world, but Frank weaves a chillingly realistic tale. Dime is naive, insecure and neglected. Other pimps use drugs to lure their girls in and keep them, but Daddy uses a different tactic. Daddy preys on young girls from rough homes; he takes advantage of their weaknesses in order to exalt himself in their eyes. Dime adores Daddy and will literally do anything for him until her own status is threatened. It's a dismal state of affairs, but these circumstances are not unique in reality. As the novel progresses, so to does Dime's awareness of her situation and that of the girls she shares an apartment with. In spite of everything she goes through, Dime shows a tremendous amount of growth and strength as she struggles to come up with a plan of action to right at least a few of the wrongs she's witnessed.
March 12, 2025
#3 in reading banned books in the county I teach in
I really think this book could save the lives of young girls. But of course, let’s rip it from every shelf and not bother to have these conversations with the people most likely to be affected by them.
I really think this book could save the lives of young girls. But of course, let’s rip it from every shelf and not bother to have these conversations with the people most likely to be affected by them.
May 5, 2016
This book is horrifying and heartbreaking. I was holding out on four stars, but this book is incredible. Five stars.
Dime (we are never told her real name) is a 13-year-old girl living in a foster home in New Jersey with a guardian who drinks and physically abuses her. Her only true love is reading, which she quietly does whenever she has a moment in between caring for her foster siblings and fighting off the sexual advances of her foster brother. She walks the streets cold, sick, and hungry in the evenings until she meets another young girl, who takes her home to her 'boyfriend,' a charismatic, smooth talking man named Daddy. Dime becomes enamored with Daddy, whom she soon discovers is a pimp. Dime resists the reality of her situation until she is told that in order to 'earn' Daddy's love, she must bring him money and work the streets.
This book is gritty and raw. It spares no details of all of the ugly realities of human trafficking you've already seen on tv documentaries. Dime describes in vivid detail the particulars of being regularly beaten and raped, along with life on the street as a pimp's 'property,' in dirty hotels, degrading sexual acts requested by johns. It's adult stuff, yet this book is completely appropriate for a YA audience. Although I cringed through most of the story because I knew what was happening to this 13-year-old child, Dime detaches herself from the ugliness around her and never quits school (even though she's encouraged to), never stops reading, and towards the end of the story, begins to see her way out of a life of prostitution.
I'm determined not to spoil this book for this review. However, I was definitely impressed with this novel. Dime is such a likeable girl that you can't help but to root for her in the face of such insurmountable odds. It took me about 4 days to read this book and all through that time I could not help but to think about her and the thousands of girls just like her being held against their will.
This book is definitely a must-read. Get this book right away!
Dime (we are never told her real name) is a 13-year-old girl living in a foster home in New Jersey with a guardian who drinks and physically abuses her. Her only true love is reading, which she quietly does whenever she has a moment in between caring for her foster siblings and fighting off the sexual advances of her foster brother. She walks the streets cold, sick, and hungry in the evenings until she meets another young girl, who takes her home to her 'boyfriend,' a charismatic, smooth talking man named Daddy. Dime becomes enamored with Daddy, whom she soon discovers is a pimp. Dime resists the reality of her situation until she is told that in order to 'earn' Daddy's love, she must bring him money and work the streets.
This book is gritty and raw. It spares no details of all of the ugly realities of human trafficking you've already seen on tv documentaries. Dime describes in vivid detail the particulars of being regularly beaten and raped, along with life on the street as a pimp's 'property,' in dirty hotels, degrading sexual acts requested by johns. It's adult stuff, yet this book is completely appropriate for a YA audience. Although I cringed through most of the story because I knew what was happening to this 13-year-old child, Dime detaches herself from the ugliness around her and never quits school (even though she's encouraged to), never stops reading, and towards the end of the story, begins to see her way out of a life of prostitution.
I'm determined not to spoil this book for this review. However, I was definitely impressed with this novel. Dime is such a likeable girl that you can't help but to root for her in the face of such insurmountable odds. It took me about 4 days to read this book and all through that time I could not help but to think about her and the thousands of girls just like her being held against their will.
This book is definitely a must-read. Get this book right away!
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