Boys For Sale

Boys For Sale #1

by Marc Finks

When his parents agree to send Tavi off to a special school in the city that promises wealth and success, they have no idea that they are handing their son over to real life human traffickers.

Tavi's excitement soon turns into horror as he learns what kind of life he has been forced into and the things that are expected of him. As his world comes crashing down around him, he struggles to stay true to himself in the midst of the darkness.

But when one of his friends dies a horrific death, Tavi knows that he must escape if he is to survive and ever have a chance at a normal life again.

Genres: Abuse, Fiction, M M Romance, Dark, Drama, Crime, Contemporary

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 4, 2013

About the author

I'm a teacher, father, and storyteller fascinated by how big ideas shape little moments (and vice versa!). My work spans from whimsical children's tales to tongue-in-cheek historical parodies—always with a spark of adventure.

For Young Readers: The Capybara Adventure Series, where lovable siblings Carlos and Camila explore nature, solve fun mysteries, and learn about caring for our planet. Aimed at Grade 2-3 readers, these lighthearted journeys introduce curiosity, empathy, and environmental themes in every chapter.

For Adventure Lovers of All Ages: My comedic passion project The Lucifer Journals, a 70-volume saga in which a well-meaning cosmic observer (a.k.a. Lucifer) accidentally triggers humanity's major turning points—agriculture, armies, organized religion—often with chaotic and hilarious results. Each volume reimagines how human history might unfold if one well-intentioned meddler just couldn't keep his hands off the timeline.

Whether I'm teaching in a classroom, sharing bedtime stories with my own kids, or spinning a quirky alternative history, my goal remains consistent: to spark wonder and laughter, and to remind us that even the biggest adventures start with a single curious step.

Reviews

[Caddy Rowland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I follow the meanings for the stars both here and on retail sites. So, this 3 star means I did like the book. It would be a 4 star on places like Amazon.

First let me say the book kept me turning the pages. I was drawn into the story and wanted to keep going. I very much liked Tavi and his friends. So, please when reading the rest of my comments, don't think I dislike this author. The book was worth my time.

However, there were some real issues for me regarding this book. Before the bookd starts, the author makes a point of mentioning that the book is about life, that bad things happen to good people, that bad people aren't all bad, etc. All the words to "warn" me that this book isn't going to pull any punches, that it would be a dark, difficult read that would skewer my guts out. The subject matter was there. The warning was there.

But it didn't.

That's too bad, because trafficking is a sickening, serious problem that, in my opinion, should be told as graphic and raw as possible to hammer home the fact of how horrible of a crime it is. Instead, I felt cheated. When a boy is killed, the killing was graphic, but then the boys have to clean it up. Why not mention what the blood smelled like, how the rags, or the brushes, never stopped rinsing red, what the texture felt like on their hands to have to clean up the lifeblood of another boy held prisoner? Why not mention how Tavi wondered why the stink of that room hadn't invaded his skin so that even after a shower he was afraid the men could smell the stink?

What about Tavi's inner thoughts? Didn't he think about his family, dream about his village? Didn't he feel a wide range or dark, hopeless emotions? When he thought about leaving, how did he think about it? What were his thoughts every time he was abused? What anguish ran through his mind?

The same with Yuri. Never did we see inside of him.

And the antagonist—the man who owned them. Why did he feel he had to do this? Hints were dropped by showing his home life, but really that home life seemed kind of paperdoll, with little meat to it. Was his wife pressuring him for a lifestyle he couldn't provide? Did he have trouble with creditors and thought he would lose everything? What did he think about when he drove home from THe School House? If there was good in him, wouldn't he struggle inside much earlier than he ended up doing?

So, while I thought parts of this book were good, it was only likable for me. I so hoped this book would punch me in the gut. Instead it danced around the boxing ring, giving hints it could be tough, but never quite making the contact I thought it would. That's too bad, because the writer appears to have the talent to write well. If only he had taken greater chances, and if only he had given us a deeper view of inside the villian and the hero's minds.

Make me cry. Make me angry. Make me want to scream at the villians and kill them. Make me undestand what it's like to be a child prisoner used by perverts for sex. But, please, don't just make me frustrated.

I don't know if I'll read part two, yet I do think this author can write a good novel. (I just wanted a great one.) Perhaps I will. Or perhaps I'll wait until he writes something else and try again. He is definitely worth trying again.

[Emma Sea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the writing is nothing special, I did find this a page turner. The opening was inexplicably hilarious, to me, because the thought of 250 street kids packed into one tiny office just seemed ludicrous. But I was very wrapped up in Tavi and his relationships with the other boys. The contrasting scenes with Javier's happy home life were so idyllic they made me gag. This . . . sappiness could have been toned down by an order of magnitude.

I wasn't gripped enough to buy book 2, but this one wasn't bad.

[Fabi NEEDS Email Notifications · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only have a minute to review because I have to get to book 2, Redemption, immediately. Five huge, stomach twisting stars my friends. This book is shocking and disgusting and terrifying and yet ... somehow hopeful. Or maybe it's the latent optimist in me looking for some sort of HEA. We have an HFN here but so much more to see. I'll catch up with you on the other side of Redemption.

[vLadimiR · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 cringe worthy stars

A warning to those looking for romance, consensual sex, moral lessons and most of all, happy endings. Turn away now because this is not the book for you.

This isn't a story where good wins over evil; Where there's a hero to save the day; Where good people get their happy endings and bad people get punished for their crimes.

This book features the life of Tavi, a thirteen year old boy born of poverty who was unfortunate enough to fall within the clutches of human trafficking. As Tavi is forced into unfathomable deeds as a child prostitute, he must find the strength and wits to escape before it is too late.

The perspective is written in the third person and shifts between the characters giving it an almost 360 degree view without being overwhelming. I got a sense of most of the characters in the story which an amazing feat that most authors couldn't accomplish.

The book drew me in from the first sentence and I (honest to goodness) couldn't stop reading even through horrific scenes like a child being beaten to death, in full detail! all the while thinking "Oh God, please let someone live, let someone live."

As the prologue states, the author wants to convey this idea that no one is completely evil or one hundred percent good. There's a part in everyone's lives where we get out hands soiled. And sometimes people do the wrong things for, surprisingly, good reasons.

After all, it's not so easy to judge a thief for stealing until you've experienced having nothing to the point of extreme hunger that you would almost want to eat your own hand or thirst so intense that you would consider drinking your own piss.

I wouldn't recommend it as a YA read because of the graphic scenes in this book and the sheer age of the child victims in the story which was as young as eight years old. Would you believe it?! Eight! I would recommend it to parents and older audiences though because after reading this story, I had the sudden need to hug my young nieces and nephews.

Being a Filipino, I am a firm believer of Karma, even as child. And for me, that's the only take away I could get from this book. That even though bad people may escape justice, the universe has it's own way of getting even. And the funny thing about Karma is that it doesn't always come after you, sometimes, it makes your loved ones pay the price...which is even scarier.

As for me, I'm geared up for the next book.

[Steelwhisper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should be very close to the real thing.

[Antonella · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has the merit of highlighting a terrible problem of our times, that is human trafficking, in particular when involving children. For this check also the page mentioned by Mark Finks: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/ or any of these organisations against human trafficking.

This said, I can't give a good rating to a book just because of the mentioned reason.

I'm sorry but I didn't like the book. I agree with Anna Tan: no sense of setting, no inner thoughts of the characters. Other negative points IMO: there is violence but it is tell-don't-show, and sometime it looks there to shock BTW even a person like Javier wouldn't permit to his adolescent son he is very protective of to kill a man, the sudden change in Javier Lopez is unbelievable, the ending aims to make you buy next book: of course there usually are unresolved issues at the end of the first book of a series, but not like here.

[Gina Whitlock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand that Marc Finks was trying to highlight the horrific sex slave trade but his "novel" doesn't do the subject justice. He comes up with Mr. Sex Slave Club Owner who loves his children so much, but cares nothing about all the children who he exploits in his business. Then his child is abused. He does a total turnaround, after helping his darling boy viciously murder his abuser. The characters make no sense at all. You'd be better off doing research on the sex slave trade than reading this.

[Anna Tan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviews on Amazon were rather mixed for this one, so I didn't go in expecting too much.

One thing that really bugged me about this story was the lack of a sense of setting. There didn't seem to be a specific place I could pin this story to - I assumed it was somewhere in the US, but the names like Tavi, Yuri, and Vikram gave it a more Asian/South East Asian feel, for example India. And then there were Sven and Francois which seem so European, and of course Javier Lopez who could really be a hispanic from the US, or Mexican, or Spanish, or just about anywhere. It was annoying to not be able to pin down a location.

The beginning part of the story which gives Tavi's family background had the feel of a more Asianic village (with tigers, which pinned maybe India or SEA in my head) but when it went into the city, with skytrains and all these people with fancy names (Giovanni?), it just felt disjointed as if they'd jumped country, but they apparently hadn't. Unless it was boys from Mexico being smuggled into the US? I don't suppose it really mattered much, but seeing that Finks said several times in the beginning and the end that it's based on real life stories, it felt like there could have been a better sense of place/location to it.

I felt this was also partially a factor as to why I couldn't quite identify with the characters - I had no place to associate them to. Finks skims a lot on the Tavi's early life in his village, which I felt could have been expanded much more to help you really identify or feel with Tavi. As it was, everything in the beginning felt rush and underdeveloped. Finks was also very careful with what he revealed in the early parts of the book as if he couldn't bring himself to describe any of the sexual and other abuses that were being inflicted on the boys, but towards the end, it felt as if he changed tack and over-described everything.

I also had a bit of a problem with Javier Lopez. His motives for running The School House weren't strong enough - if he thought of his customers as perverts, why run the school at all? Only for the money? What caused the duality between how he saw his son and how he saw all the children he bought and sold?

Overall, I would say that Finks manages to get his point across - he manages to highlight the terrible things being done to children that are kidnapped or sold into slavery - but it wasn't really quite engaging enough. The book could have benefited from a better editor.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 dark, disturbing, and hesitant stars. So let me explain the hesitant. I've read captive stories before and enjoyed them, but this book wasn't like them. This isn't a romance. There is nothing to root for except the boys' freedom. This truly was dark and disturbing because there was no glamour to it and probably holds a nice size glimpse into reality. So giving it 4 stars feels odd to me. But in truth, it was a captivating story. It wasn't overly graphic, but certainly contained enough details to make your stomach churn a bit. It was both interesting and scary because no one was what they appeared to be. We were shown that the owner, Javier, had "redeeming" qualities and that others in charge were doing it as a means of escape or simply because they had no where to go. It will be interesting to see how it all resolves in book 2.

[Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow

I could not stop reading it. I chose this book because I've always been drawn to the more demonic side of humanity. We like to paint our society as glorious and in doing so forget the underlying problems such as the events that take place in this book. The events are heart-wrenching and because they are inspired by true events, will definitely bring the reader to question the morality of our society. I don't want to spoil it for any prospective reader, but I do recommend those who want a glimpse of reality to definitely pick this book up.

[Cassie Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really distressing tale of a young boy unwittingly sold into the sex trade by his parents.

It's dark and disturbing, but there is an element of hope in the end. I thought the characters had a lot of depth and that made them more real.

I'd be interested to read the sequel, although I might need a bit of an emotional break first.

[Paige Dearth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but the ending was lame and aimed only to sell the second book. I also read the second book of this series, which fell flat. The author left the first book with a forced a cliffhanger (which I wasn't thrilled about the technique) and so I bought the second - oh well.

Paige

[Mr.Rainbow.Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Hiii everyone, Its Christopher the reader, The book we are here to talk about tonight is (Drum roll) Boys For Sale. This story is the first in the 'Boys For Sale Series'. This was my first read of 'Marc Finks's work. After reading this story I do want to give some of their other book's a go sometime in the future. I first read this story in March, of this year 2023. It took me a day to finish reading. 'Boys for sale' was first published on the 4th of January in the year 2013. The book was told using third person following multiple points of view. (alex's mum, yuri, javir and tavi) Which had 40 chapters, all together the story had 230 pages which also includes a prologue at the start.


-I think that this book is really important and one that everyone should read. I do feel like this was written pretty well. with rich character descriptions that make them feel like real people. The plot has some jaw-dropping twists that left me feeling completely stunned and emotionally drained. While reading the story, I felt fully immersed in the experience alongside the characters. However, I believe that the book would benefit from editing. During my read-through, I spotted a couple of errors in the wording, one of which was using 'and' twice when only one was necessary in places throughout the story as well as other words. I believe that the book missed several opportunities to provide a more vivid description of the sensory experiences, such as sight, touch, and smell.

From the very first page of the book, I was completely engrossed in the story. I found myself able to relate to Travi on a deeper level when he was spending time with his family at home. It was a pleasant surprise to learn about Yuri and Travi's early days in their hometown, which added depth and context to their later interactions at the schoolhouse. While I enjoyed learning a bit about Travi's pre-school house life, I do agree that his character could have been more fully explored to add depth to his role in the story.

Initially, I was uncertain when we encountered the first shift in perspective. While reading, I found it slightly disorienting and confusing since I was unsure about the identity of the male character. As I carried on, I couldn't help but wonder about the significance of his presence. It soon dawned on me that he must be a major character in the story, and as I continued, I gradually pieced together his identity. The story had me in tears more than once. I found the book's realistic scenes to be particularly compelling, and appreciated the author's attention to developing the other captives who shared Travi's confinement. While I found some sections to be rushed, I believe that the story's concept was strong.

The prologue introduced an intriguing concept that unfortunately wasn't explored further in the book. As a reader, I would have appreciated more attention given to character development. While the story held my interest, I couldn't help but feel that it would have benefited from a more unified structure. A single, lengthy book would have allowed for a deeper exploration of the story's themes and characters, with Travi's life story divided into four parts. As a reader, I believe that limiting the perspective to Travi's point of view would have enhanced my experience with the book. I would have appreciated a deeper insight into Travi's inner thoughts and emotions. In my opinion, I feel like its possible for the story to flow seamlessly if Travi and Billy had a chance encounter where they briefly conversed or if Throughout the story, Travi could have may have caught glimpses of Javier conversing with his son and possibly even overheard him speaking to his family on the phone in his presence when in his office.

-Travi's love for books was endearing to me, and I regret not having the opportunity to learn about his favourite titles so that I could have read them. While reading about Javier's story, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for his wife and two children. As a reader, I found myself urging them to uncover the truth about him, which was frustrating. However, I also understand why they may not have suspected anything as they appeared to be a typical, affluent family. It made me realize that the capacity for such actions exists within anyone, regardless of who we may typically associate with such behaviour. I found Billy's character, who happens to be Javier's son, quite intriguing. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing how his character develops in the next book.

-The story's cliff-hanger ending left me eager to dive straight into the sequel, and I was fortunate enough to have re-joined Kindle Unlimited just in time to instantly start reading 'Redemption'. Given the growing popularity and accessibility of audiobooks, it seems only fitting that this book should have its own audio edition.


For each story that I read, I rate it out of 10 so for this am going to give it a 9.3. Remember this was what I thought about the book personally and I suggest that you give it a go for yourself

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boys for Sale is about human trafficking. It’s awful. Human trafficking is awful. And the book does shed some light onto the plight that, in this case, young boys, suffer due to the trafficking industry.

But this book is disturbing and gross and I can’t really recommend it, even if the purpose is to expose light to an extreme situation because it’s really graphic.

⅖ stars. The 1 extra star is because this book exposes a shady underground that should be exposed. But I think it could have been done without the extremely graphic scenes.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a few books and life experiences from survivors of human trafficking this story is on a different level. I applaud the author for writing this book, overall I feel like he did a great job. Some things could have been better but I can only imagine how hard it is to write a book of this content. This book being fiction I feel like it is so much harder to write you cant pull from real-life experiences due to having permission and legal reasons. Many people who have experienced this aren’t ready to tell their story.

I admire the author for writing this book, after attending a speech by David Batstone, Not for Sale, Marc Fink felt compelled to write a book on this real issue. It’s a great way to bring awareness.

Some of the reviews didn’t like that the book didn’t have a specific location. I didn’t mind it because human trafficking happens everywhere no location is safe. Why put a specific location? It happens everywhere, sadly the recruiting for a school in a city happens or a promise of a better life and more opportunities. Parents think it’s an amazing opportunity for their child without realizing they will never see their child again. Other parents know that they are selling their children in that life. I don’t believe the book was poorly written. I felt like parts could have been better, more of a back story of Tavi, Yuri, Vakrim, Mac, Billy, Javier. I felt like I wanted to understand their characters so much more. Javier, I didn’t fully understand his character and felt it was a bit confusing. I understand why because many of the people who buy children are pastors, coaches, and parents themselves. One wonders how can a parent do this to a child while they have children at home or when they work with children. However you can’t trust anyone, you must be alert with your children and realize it can be anyone in your circle of influence, you would be surprised how many people are upstanding citizens. Tavis's backstory could have been expanded so much more to help the reader fully connect with him, with that being said I still connected with the main character. I do feel like the book could have been a bit more jarring for the reader to realize how horrific this issue truly is. I do appreciate that it was boys, I feel like that is often overlooked when in reality it’s women, men, and children that get sold into human trafficking every day.

This is a real issue, this happens every 30 seconds in the world it happens everywhere. It’s hard to stomach some scenes in the book. They aren’t as intense and horrific as other stories I have read but the author didn’t sugarcoat it at all but having read real-life stories it’s worse and unimaginable to think what these children go through. However, I feel like this is such a good book if you can’t stomach the hard truth right away. I have met people who don’t realize that child pornography can be young as a few days old. We don’t want to believe it and what truly happens behind closed doors but this issue is huge. The author mentions at the end of the book some of the children as young as 18 months can already be in human trafficking as a sex slave. There needs to be more awareness brought to this issue.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★

This is a dark and disturbing book and to say I enjoyed it would be the wrong words. It did however hold my attention, but overall for me, it was just an okay read. Because of the subject matter, I don’t think this is for everyone, so I suggest you keep that in mind before you decide to read it. It’s not for the faint-hearted that’s for sure.

[Abbie Riddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the hardest books I have read for the year! Following Tavi from being sold into sex trafficking, breaking out and making a difference is one of the most heart-wrenching things ever. However, bringing to light such activities is of the utmost importance. Parents selling their children (or accepting payment) thinking the child is going to a school to be able to have a better future outside of the impoverished villages they are from is so sad.

The fact that our Western culture keeps this going is so sickening!! I hate it. Red light districts should not exist anywhere. And Pedophilia is gaining way too much traction in the world and being excused, hidden and talked around too often.

The reality is that this is a terrible situation and I am not even sure what the answer is. Because, sexual addiction starts small, sexual deviation and desires of debauchery do not just suddenly occur they happen with small steps - so the porn on the lowest level must be stopped. And we must at all cost be aggressive in stopping this type of thing.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. That may sound weird considering the subject matter (children forced into sexual slavery.) However, it was very well-written and thoughtful. It's written in 3rd person and alternates between both Tavi (a young boy) and Javier (the head of the trafficking ring.) The reader is able to "see" the events from both sides and the characters are very believable. At times, it felt like I was living the crap right along with them.


While there are many acts of violence and/or sex, they are not gratuitous or too graphic. However, they are descriptive enough to depict the true horror of Tavi's and the other boys' lives. The topic is very close to the author's heart and he encourages readers to get involved to help the estimated 2,000,000 children forced into the sex trade.

The ending isn't an HEA but it is hopeful. The story continues in Book 2. Can't wait to read it!

[Dakota Hurlburt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was truly stunning and horrifying and heart breaking. It is very unsettling and upsetting but things like what this book is about does happen. Turning a blind eye doesn't mean it isn't and I wish I didn't have the history I do because poor kids like these need homes. I would recommend for anyone who wants to have their heart torn out but it is a little descriptive (it says so at the beginning) so you probably will cringe and want to cry a lot. If you want to know what it's about read the description. Also my only problem not with the book but with it being categorized on here and Amazon, this is Not a romance-that is a fact- and in my -opinion- it should not be included in LGBT unless it is stated that it is not consensual [so this book is not mixed in with gay romance/ erotica because it is none of those things]. I cannot wait to read the next book to find out what happens to the boys although I am expecting my heart to break.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 Stars.

First off: what the heck is up with people labeling these books as ROMANCE?!?! This is almost more disturbing then this book itself.

This book is one of, if not the most disturbing novel I've ever read. It's about a boy named Tavi whose parents unknowingly sold him into commercial sex slavery. I knew that this wasn't going to be a happy go lucky read, but WOW. I wasn't expecting it to bother me as much as it did. Even though the writing and characters were nothing special (although I did begin to respect his characterization of Tavi by the end of the novel), I'm without a doubt going to read the second one soon.

Dang Marc Finks, will I be able to function after your second novel? This novel alone has opened my eyes to the very, very real problem of human trafficking and I can't stop thinking about it.

[Hester Maree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novel about Tavi, a teenage boy handed over to a group posing as educators, who promised his parents better schooling for him and the prospect of going to university. He soon becomes wise to the lie when he is forced into slavery.
Tavi's character is well portrayed by the author as are those of a few other boys. I empathised with them and felt their helplessness at the hands of their heartless, immoral traffickers, but I felt more needed to be said to round off their characters.
This novel provides a brutal insight into the lives of children unknowingly “sold” into slavery by mostly poor parents. I expected a more factual look into this barbaric industry and would have liked more general information on human trafficking as a whole, as the title suggests. Be warned of graphic descriptions of violence. Some editing is required.

[Kathy DeShong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book on a very sad situation in life. Human trafficking is a societal problem many people don't believe is real It is! They criticize the victim because they don't try to escape or fight back. THESE ARE VICTIMS! Read about Stockholm Syndrome, maybe you'll have better insight. My only disappointment in the novel,(which is why I only gave it 4 Stars)was disconnect between the prologue, the story and the ending which I have written the author about. It is a suspenseful read that I recommend mature readers to read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I typically read Christian fiction, but this was free for Kindles and sounded interesting. It was well written, though as typical with secular fiction, it had way too much bad language and was bit graphic, but not overly. The author did a great job through fiction, to show the plight of boys sold into the sex trade. The book is sad and left me wanting to do something to help kids trapped in sexual or other slavery

[Kas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting and terrifying.

[Kol Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly Written.

[Denise C LePetit Bresemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spellbinding!

I could not put this book down. Had to read it all the way through. All of the characters are like they are alive. I highly recommend this book.

[Ted Waterfall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel deals with a most disturbing subject; human trafficking in young boys. The two main protagonists are Javier, who owns a bar that auctions off boys as young as eight to the highest bidder (men) for sex, after drugging them to help in their compliance, and Tavi, a thirteen year old child who was one such child.

Agents would enter into poverty stricken villages in an unnamed 3rd world country and identify intelligent, good looking boys and offer their parents a good sum of money under the guise of sending them to an excellent private school. The children would then owe them a certain term of service to pay off the “tuition” and would then be free to return to their families with a new skill set. These kids were then forced into the sex industry with no chance of escape.

Filled with graphic descriptions it is not for the easily upset but it does indeed address a very real evil in this world as this problem is not a figment of the author’s imagination. It is prevalent enough that there is even a National Human Trafficking Hotline, 888-373-7888, that can be called for help.

Javier seems to have a change of heart toward the end of the novel when his own son becomes a victim but the novel ends with absolutely nothing resolved. All loose ends remain untied. Of course the point of that is so you will buy volume two.

The quality of writing is good, though not great. But if the point of a book is to get you to think about a subject, and why shouldn’t it, then this book will certainly accomplish that.

[Frank Cardenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account of human trafficking, a topical subject which we would prefer to avoid for all the horrendous feelings it might trigger. Unfortunately, those same actions told by the author that keep enraging us all along the book, remind us that the nasty human part is a real truth. I loved the book primarily for it was inspired by reality, which together with the vivid descriptions of children being abused makes it even more worrisome. Shocking to imagine all this nastiness provoked sometimes both as decisions contrary to peoples interests are made and other times, as we see ourselves harshly judging the timeless double standards of human morality...this time portrayed in one of the characters who owns the bar. The main character, Tavi, is such a great boy that we all want to have him take revenge on those perverts, even though it implies digging his own grave. The other characters are a great example of what we do not want our nephews to be involved in. However, I would have loved to have some more insights into the background of some of the characters to find out where this coldness and perversity come from.

[Valeria Sandoval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man. I don't know where to start. Marc and I actually studied a course together but I never knew he was an author until recently, when I believe he shared this book on his Facebook page. The title immediately caught my attention, and I could imagine what it was about. I finally got the courage to buy it this week and I just finished it 10 minutes ago. I started reading it with fear because I knew that it would bring back stomach wrenching memories to me; and it did. I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse myself. Someone who should have protected me used this to his advantage and destroyed most of my childhood and many women's in my family as well. I can't even imagine what these kids go through because ON TOP of being raped and destroyed both physically, mentally and emotionally by their rapists and "bosses", they have to go through the tremendous and unimaginable anguish of being ripped away from their families, possibly never seeing them again. Thank you Marc for putting this out there, for giving people that have been lucky enough to never live any of this, to open their eyes an realize that this world is tremendously unfair.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boys for Sale is a difficult book to review. It’s a horrible story, but that’s the point. It tells, in story form, the horrible atrocities that take place in the human trafficking/child sex slave circles. As the author writes after hearing about these circles, “The stories that he shared were tragic, but even more so because they were real.” Marc Finks made some interesting choices in his writing: Focusing on one boy, Tavi, made it personal and impactful; also focusing on the owner of the club that sold the boys, Javier, showed how people can put on a facade and not even consider the abuse they are putting these children through; and not setting the story in one specific location made the impact universal. I appreciate the effort of Finks to make this problem known. My rating is a bit lower because the writing needs more editing and this first book ended in a terrible place. While I do like the idea that the change that was hinted about isn’t going to be rushed but will be fleshed out in a whole other book, I think it would have been better to just make this book longer. At the very least, the ending of this first book needed to be less abrupt.