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Cloud Girls: A Gripping Novel of Two Girls' Resilience Navigating Abuse, Trafficking, and Unlikely Kindness
A PEOPLE MAGAZINE PICK! “Shocking—and shockingly good. It is thought-provoking, anger-provoking, guilt-provoking, and—most importantly—it is a brilliantly written novel.”—Roddy Doyle
Thrown together by a harrowing twist of fate, two girls will find hope and redemption in friendship in this award-winning, emotional gut punch of a novel from the author of Bright Burning Things.
Sassy, streetwise Sammy is a teenage girl who is falling through the cracks. Neglected by an alcoholic mother, the problems she endures at school and home lead her into the hands of adults who don't have her best interests in mind. Failed by them at every turn, Sammy acts out, seeking attention from boys, then men, when what she wants most is protection.
Meanwhile, in a small village in Eastern Europe, preternaturally beautiful and naïve Nico is about to turn thirteen and as her family falls upon desperate times, her father is approached to marry her off. Her family knows that the nice life this stranger seems to be offering Nico is too good to be true, but they and Nico hope for the best as she’s shuttled across the border into Ireland, where she and Sammy find one another in their new home, a suburban brothel.
As Nico and Sammy journey into this dark underbelly and out the other side, their friendship—and the unexpected acts of kindness they give and receive—form a potent bond.
Heartbreaking and breathtakingly beautiful, Cloud Girls exposes the failings of polite society and the cruelty that exists beneath its surface, yet reminds us that goodness and love can flourish in the darkest times.
Thrown together by a harrowing twist of fate, two girls will find hope and redemption in friendship in this award-winning, emotional gut punch of a novel from the author of Bright Burning Things.
Sassy, streetwise Sammy is a teenage girl who is falling through the cracks. Neglected by an alcoholic mother, the problems she endures at school and home lead her into the hands of adults who don't have her best interests in mind. Failed by them at every turn, Sammy acts out, seeking attention from boys, then men, when what she wants most is protection.
Meanwhile, in a small village in Eastern Europe, preternaturally beautiful and naïve Nico is about to turn thirteen and as her family falls upon desperate times, her father is approached to marry her off. Her family knows that the nice life this stranger seems to be offering Nico is too good to be true, but they and Nico hope for the best as she’s shuttled across the border into Ireland, where she and Sammy find one another in their new home, a suburban brothel.
As Nico and Sammy journey into this dark underbelly and out the other side, their friendship—and the unexpected acts of kindness they give and receive—form a potent bond.
Heartbreaking and breathtakingly beautiful, Cloud Girls exposes the failings of polite society and the cruelty that exists beneath its surface, yet reminds us that goodness and love can flourish in the darkest times.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 25, 2023
82 people are currently reading
10615 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Harding
10 books179 followersLisa Harding is an Irish writer, actress, and playwright whose work spans on fictional novels, play, anthologies and journals. She is considered an important voice in contemporary Irish literature, with her works contributing to discussions around social issues. Her novels engage readers with compelling stories while prompting reflection on the lives of those on the margins of society.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews
April 25, 2023
Publication Day!
April 25, 2023
4.5⭐
Cloud Girls by Lisa Harding is heartbreaking, almost unbearably so. Nicoleta “Nico” Zanesti, an innocent child of twelve from Moldova, has no option but to trust her parents, her father in particular when he “marries” her off to a stranger. She believes her father’s promises that she will see the sea, travel and have a wonderful life in London. Little does she know that she is being sold off to a child trafficker. Fifteen-year-old Dubliner, Samantha “Sammy” Harvey, on the other hand, is the child of an alcoholic, emotionally abusive mother and a father who is around but practically ineffectual as far as being an influence on her life is concerned. Refusing to notify the relevant authorities of her situation at home fearing that she would be placed in foster care Sammy chooses life on the streets. She hopes to make some money and start over on her own, but even she is unprepared for the brutality and darkness that ensues. These two girls come from different backgrounds, they are different people but their fates are intertwined when they both end up in the same “house” with several other girls in Ireland. Sammy is shown to be stronger and relatively more mature than Nico. Initially self-absorbed and a tad indifferent to the other trafficked girls around she is deeply affected by their suffering, Nico in particular. Nico finds comfort in memories of her home and family, and the clouds she still enjoys watching – a refuge from the harsh reality of her life. Subject to unimaginable acts of brutality and trapped, with no one but one another to turn to, they attempt to ease one another’s pain while wishing for a sliver of hope in what they begin to realize is a hopeless situation.
With its powerful prose and compelling characters, this novel is an emotionally impactful read. The narrative is shared from the first-person PoVs of Sammy and Nico in alternating chapters. Both Sammy and Nico are very well-fleshed-out characters. The story gives an unflinching, bleak and harsh look into the underbelly of child sex trafficking and the plight of those trapped in a vicious cycle of debt, exploitation and abuse. In the Author’s Note, Lisa Harding shares that both these characters are based on the composites of the testimonials of several children who were victims of sex trafficking. Given the subject matter, it goes without saying that this is not a light read. But it is an important story that needs to be told and one that will stay with you.
Many thanks to author Lisa Harding, HarperVia and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
⚠ Sexual Abuse of Minors
April 27, 2023
Happy book birthday!
This book punches you in the stomach several times with its heart wrenching, thought provoking, compelling story about two girl from different backgrounds: neglected teenagers and victims of sex trafficking!
Both Nico and Sam’s character developments and her narrations were perfect! Their stories are well excited! You feel their pains deep in your guts! So tragic, realistic, sad, bleak and definitely so hard to absorb!
Nico’s own father sells her to marriage as soon as she becomes a teenager and Sam cannot stand anymore to live with a mentally distorted, alcoholic mother and a father who cannot even protect her from her mother’s wrongful treatment! She decides to leave the home.
Both girls find herself in the most horrible, nightmarish path they cannot escape!
Writing is beautiful, direct, honest! Both girls’ stories were engaging, realistic!
Giving my full, painful, tragic, poignant five stars!
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
This book punches you in the stomach several times with its heart wrenching, thought provoking, compelling story about two girl from different backgrounds: neglected teenagers and victims of sex trafficking!
Both Nico and Sam’s character developments and her narrations were perfect! Their stories are well excited! You feel their pains deep in your guts! So tragic, realistic, sad, bleak and definitely so hard to absorb!
Nico’s own father sells her to marriage as soon as she becomes a teenager and Sam cannot stand anymore to live with a mentally distorted, alcoholic mother and a father who cannot even protect her from her mother’s wrongful treatment! She decides to leave the home.
Both girls find herself in the most horrible, nightmarish path they cannot escape!
Writing is beautiful, direct, honest! Both girls’ stories were engaging, realistic!
Giving my full, painful, tragic, poignant five stars!
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
April 30, 2023
My name is Nico. I am thirteen in two weeks and two days. I come from Moldova. My country is shaped like a bunch of grapes and no sea touches it. I shake my head. No. No. No—my name is Natasha Popescu, I am fifteen years old, from a village in Romania whose name I've forgotten. (loc. 2240*)
I don't often start with content warnings, but Cloud Girls calls for one—be aware that this book is about the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
In Dublin, Sammy is struggling: Her mother is alcoholic and abusive, and her father is physically present but decided a long time ago not to see his wife's illness, or her treatment of Sammy. In Moldova, all Nico wants is to run and play in the trees—but at twelve, her period has come, and she is no longer considered a child.
Here's the difference between them: Sammy thinks she's still in control. Nico knows she isn't.
Cloud Girls slips from small-town Moldova to suburban Ireland, following these two girls as they land in a brothel and their lives become about survival. And it's devastating: once they're in the system, there is precious little they can do to get themselves out of it, and nobody coming to rescue them. For Sammy, that feels like a good thing initially (nobody looking for her means freedom from her mother), but it rapidly becomes apparent to her that she has bitten off far, far more than she can chew, and landed somewhere that she'd never have been able to envision. Nico, too, knows that nobody is coming to rescue her: perhaps her father told himself that he was selling her off to a better life, perhaps he even told himself that he believed that to be true, but...well.
I have only been in this house three days and three nights and already it seems as if three lifetimes have passed. (loc. 3766)
I am reminded strongly of The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro, of the ways in which girls have long been treated as disposable. In Oliva Denaro, puberty means that it's time for Oliva to be married off, and rape means it's time for her to be married off to her rapist; in Cloud Girls, puberty means that it's time for Nico to be sold off. Decades have passed, and the countries are different, but Sammy and Nico are not in a better situation than Oliva. And so many people are complicit: Nico's father, who sells her, and the people who buy her; the adults who choose not to believe Sammy when she says that home is not a safe place; the border agents who look closely but opt not to ask; the drivers and madams and other brothel employees; the hotel workers who look the other way; the hotel guests who look the other way; and of course the men paying to abuse these children.
All I could think, as I was watching, was thank God it's not me. Something bad has taken up space inside me, and I want to turn away from it, and me. (loc. 3989)
Harding walks a very careful line here: this is a book with a staggering amount of abuse, and she is very careful about what makes it on the page and what is left to be inferred. Go into it with caution, but she's written it for good reason.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
*I read an ARC, and quotes may not be final.
I don't often start with content warnings, but Cloud Girls calls for one—be aware that this book is about the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
In Dublin, Sammy is struggling: Her mother is alcoholic and abusive, and her father is physically present but decided a long time ago not to see his wife's illness, or her treatment of Sammy. In Moldova, all Nico wants is to run and play in the trees—but at twelve, her period has come, and she is no longer considered a child.
Here's the difference between them: Sammy thinks she's still in control. Nico knows she isn't.
Cloud Girls slips from small-town Moldova to suburban Ireland, following these two girls as they land in a brothel and their lives become about survival. And it's devastating: once they're in the system, there is precious little they can do to get themselves out of it, and nobody coming to rescue them. For Sammy, that feels like a good thing initially (nobody looking for her means freedom from her mother), but it rapidly becomes apparent to her that she has bitten off far, far more than she can chew, and landed somewhere that she'd never have been able to envision. Nico, too, knows that nobody is coming to rescue her: perhaps her father told himself that he was selling her off to a better life, perhaps he even told himself that he believed that to be true, but...well.
I have only been in this house three days and three nights and already it seems as if three lifetimes have passed. (loc. 3766)
I am reminded strongly of The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro, of the ways in which girls have long been treated as disposable. In Oliva Denaro, puberty means that it's time for Oliva to be married off, and rape means it's time for her to be married off to her rapist; in Cloud Girls, puberty means that it's time for Nico to be sold off. Decades have passed, and the countries are different, but Sammy and Nico are not in a better situation than Oliva. And so many people are complicit: Nico's father, who sells her, and the people who buy her; the adults who choose not to believe Sammy when she says that home is not a safe place; the border agents who look closely but opt not to ask; the drivers and madams and other brothel employees; the hotel workers who look the other way; the hotel guests who look the other way; and of course the men paying to abuse these children.
All I could think, as I was watching, was thank God it's not me. Something bad has taken up space inside me, and I want to turn away from it, and me. (loc. 3989)
Harding walks a very careful line here: this is a book with a staggering amount of abuse, and she is very careful about what makes it on the page and what is left to be inferred. Go into it with caution, but she's written it for good reason.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
*I read an ARC, and quotes may not be final.
November 3, 2022
CW: domestic/international sex trafficking (not graphic but the implied images will stay with you), child abuse, substance abuse, physical/emotional/mental abuse
Thank you HarperVia and netgalley for this ARC!! In my bookfluencer era.
I really appreciated the parallel stories of Nico and Sammy; it shed an incredibly important light on domestic trafficking (I feel most of the discourse solely focuses on international, but it is crucial to remember that sex trafficking happens here and everywhere, in our home countries, in our backyards) while also providing some lightness in the form of Nico and Sammy’s convergence and budding friendship.
The writing is beyond amazing and I was really stunned by how well the author tells these stories so wholly and authentically, while not providing any graphic details that too often read as trauma porn. The author tells the realities of these children but it is so thoughtfully and carefully written and really emphasizes the nuances that come with these complex experiences of severe trauma and degradation.
I know a lot people will and have said this is too depressing of a read and on some levels I totally agree, but it also sheds light on something not many people talk or think about often. It gives a voice to so many invisible and stolen children who often never get to tell their stories due to the invisibility of this trade (so important!!!!)
Thank you HarperVia and netgalley for this ARC!! In my bookfluencer era.
I really appreciated the parallel stories of Nico and Sammy; it shed an incredibly important light on domestic trafficking (I feel most of the discourse solely focuses on international, but it is crucial to remember that sex trafficking happens here and everywhere, in our home countries, in our backyards) while also providing some lightness in the form of Nico and Sammy’s convergence and budding friendship.
The writing is beyond amazing and I was really stunned by how well the author tells these stories so wholly and authentically, while not providing any graphic details that too often read as trauma porn. The author tells the realities of these children but it is so thoughtfully and carefully written and really emphasizes the nuances that come with these complex experiences of severe trauma and degradation.
I know a lot people will and have said this is too depressing of a read and on some levels I totally agree, but it also sheds light on something not many people talk or think about often. It gives a voice to so many invisible and stolen children who often never get to tell their stories due to the invisibility of this trade (so important!!!!)
September 18, 2022
Harding delivers a gut-wrenching dose of reality into the insidious life of sex trafficking and how two girls from different parts of the world come together and find light in the darkest corner.
Let us begin:
We are first introduced to 12-year-old Nicoleta (Nico), who lives in a small village in Moldova.
Nico is a typical 12-year-old, happy and carefree, who loves to play with her dog and climb trees.
As soon as Nico begins her menses, her father, who is very poor and down on his luck, decides to marry Nico off, entrusting that a stranger will take his daughter to Ireland, where she will have a better life.
But If only he knew where he was sending Nico away, would he still do it?)
Samantha (Sammy), who is neglected, has dealt with an alcoholic mother and a father who is absent when needed to protect her.
Sammy then turns to the streets of Dublin, Ireland, where she was raised, and feels she is street smart and savvy. However, because of the neglect and abuse at home, Sammy decides she’s better off on the streets, seeking attention from anyone who will show her an ounce of kindness.
But Sammy meets someone who shows her compassion; only that kindness isn’t the kind she expected.
Cloud Girls is a dual narrative from Sammy and Nico at alternating times.
Eventually, Harding brings the two girls together in the book, where they will be required to perform unimaginable acts.
Acts that no child should ever be required to perform.
Abuse rained down upon the two girls by adults when it is adults that should be taking care of them and being the protectors.
Harding makes this novel almost deplorable if it were not 100% true,
Unfathomable if it were not needed in this world to shed light.
Harding serves a cold case of reality; unfortunately, she does it “BRILLIANTLY.”
It has always been strange to me to say a book like this is “AMAZING,” but that’s precisely what it is.
Kudos to you, Ms. Harding, for shedding light on sex trafficking “again” and making sure the light “NEVER DIES OUT” and these “CHILDREN AND YOUNG WOMEN” are “NEVER FORGOTTEN.”
Job Well DONE!!!
It crushes your whole “SOUL.”
“HUG YOUR DAUGHTERS”
“HOLD YOUR DAUGHTERS CLOSE”
Thank you, NetGalley/Lisa Harding/HarperVia/ For this “Gut-Wrenching” eARC for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition.
Let us begin:
We are first introduced to 12-year-old Nicoleta (Nico), who lives in a small village in Moldova.
Nico is a typical 12-year-old, happy and carefree, who loves to play with her dog and climb trees.
As soon as Nico begins her menses, her father, who is very poor and down on his luck, decides to marry Nico off, entrusting that a stranger will take his daughter to Ireland, where she will have a better life.
But If only he knew where he was sending Nico away, would he still do it?)
Samantha (Sammy), who is neglected, has dealt with an alcoholic mother and a father who is absent when needed to protect her.
Sammy then turns to the streets of Dublin, Ireland, where she was raised, and feels she is street smart and savvy. However, because of the neglect and abuse at home, Sammy decides she’s better off on the streets, seeking attention from anyone who will show her an ounce of kindness.
But Sammy meets someone who shows her compassion; only that kindness isn’t the kind she expected.
Cloud Girls is a dual narrative from Sammy and Nico at alternating times.
Eventually, Harding brings the two girls together in the book, where they will be required to perform unimaginable acts.
Acts that no child should ever be required to perform.
Abuse rained down upon the two girls by adults when it is adults that should be taking care of them and being the protectors.
Harding makes this novel almost deplorable if it were not 100% true,
Unfathomable if it were not needed in this world to shed light.
Harding serves a cold case of reality; unfortunately, she does it “BRILLIANTLY.”
It has always been strange to me to say a book like this is “AMAZING,” but that’s precisely what it is.
Kudos to you, Ms. Harding, for shedding light on sex trafficking “again” and making sure the light “NEVER DIES OUT” and these “CHILDREN AND YOUNG WOMEN” are “NEVER FORGOTTEN.”
Job Well DONE!!!
It crushes your whole “SOUL.”
“HUG YOUR DAUGHTERS”
“HOLD YOUR DAUGHTERS CLOSE”
Thank you, NetGalley/Lisa Harding/HarperVia/ For this “Gut-Wrenching” eARC for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition.
April 25, 2023
Is this what a man would see if he let himself see, or would he squint and imagine a girl who's enjoying herself as much as him? What I do to the clouds is what these men do to us: create things in the air that do not exist.
In her Author's Note at the end of Cloud Girls, Lisa Harding briefly discusses her involvement with a campaign in Ireland to end child/young adult sex trafficking. Through this campaign, she was invited to read the firsthand accounts of several girls that were trafficked for the sex trade. It was those haunting, harrowing accounts that inspired Cloud Girls, whose two central characters are composites of many of those girls.
Nico is a 13-year-old from a poor family in a small Moldovan village. Times are hard, and when Nico's father is approached by a man who wants to marry his daughter, who promises to give her a better life and more opportunities in England, he agrees. Nico's parents know this offer sounds too good to be true, but they can only hope for the best as their daughter is whisked away -- a young girl's innocence and freedom exchanged for the money they so desperately need.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, Ireland, 15-year-old Sammy has been failed by every adult in her life. Her escalating acts of misbehavior are a cry for help and attention, but no one seems to hear them. Leaving behind an alcoholic mother who, when she isn't berating her or behaving inappropriately, completely ignores her existence, Sammy sets out alone into the city, where she is forced into devastating sexual situations just to survive.
Nico's and Sammy's stories converge when they both arrive at a suburban brothel, and in each other, the two girls find friendship and some measure of comfort and hope in the darkness of their circumstances.
Cloud Girls is a devastating, powerful novel that brings into harsh, unflinching light the realities of child sex trafficking. Given its subject matter, this is obviously an incredibly difficult book to read, but it's so important. Harding doesn't shy away from the most uncomfortable, darkest parts of this seedy underbelly of society, but she is also not exploitive. It's a fine line to tread, but she manages to pointedly show us the horrors of Nico's and Sammy's situations without being too graphic. The specifics of many situations they're in are only inferred rather than relayed in explicit detail, and the subtlety makes the message even more haunting and impactful.
Nico and Sammy carry this novel, which is more character- than plot-driven, and they are such authentic, lovingly-drawn characters. Harding has given each of them a strong, distinct voice, and each girl is heartbreakingly sympathetic in her own way: Nico for her innocence, Sammy for her armor of false bravado. Harding's writing is emotionally resonant and profound as she draws readers completely into this world that exists on the fringes of polite society, into the lives of children who are exploited and abused and caught in a hamster wheel from which they can't escape. Harrowing and unflinching, Cloud Girls grabs readers by the throat and tells us to stop looking the other way. Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the advance reading opportunity.
July 5, 2023
This is a compelling story but the writing style is not for me.
June 25, 2024
4.5 … this book hits you in the stomach pretty bad …
April 22, 2023
Cloud Girls by Lisa Harding. Thanks to @harpervia for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two girls find themselves in a suburban brothel in Dublin, Ireland with each other for support. Niko is from Romania, sold by her father who thinks she is finding a wealthy international husband. Sammy ran away from an abusive home life to make her own way in the world.
This is a really heartbreaking read and difficult at times but important. We can’t turn a blind eye to these events that occur. I think it’s important to highlight truth in fiction. I loved how both girls came from entirely different backgrounds and situations. It shows how kids enter into sex trafficking in different ways and from different countries. Their friendship helped highlight their strength. The ending was sad but hopeful as well, just like life.
“These girls: they come and they go and no one is stopping them, someone is selling them. Their parents, siblings, aunties, uncles, grandparents, boyfriends, friends. What happens to these girls - us - when they are used up?”
Cloud Girls comes out 4/25.
Two girls find themselves in a suburban brothel in Dublin, Ireland with each other for support. Niko is from Romania, sold by her father who thinks she is finding a wealthy international husband. Sammy ran away from an abusive home life to make her own way in the world.
This is a really heartbreaking read and difficult at times but important. We can’t turn a blind eye to these events that occur. I think it’s important to highlight truth in fiction. I loved how both girls came from entirely different backgrounds and situations. It shows how kids enter into sex trafficking in different ways and from different countries. Their friendship helped highlight their strength. The ending was sad but hopeful as well, just like life.
“These girls: they come and they go and no one is stopping them, someone is selling them. Their parents, siblings, aunties, uncles, grandparents, boyfriends, friends. What happens to these girls - us - when they are used up?”
Cloud Girls comes out 4/25.
June 9, 2023
I truly sometimes think I am broken. The writing here is certainly beautiful and masterful. Yet, it was not for me and I could not connect. I like things to be more straightforward, so things like symbolism and speaking in big picture mode is lost on me. I don't want to work to determine what I am supposed to be taking away from what I just read when all I want to do is get lost amongst the pages. I don't even know what I am trying to say other than soooo many people loved this and I didn't. So we'll just go with it's me, not the story.
November 12, 2022
Sammy and Nico are teenagers in different parts of the world living in dire circumstances and are washed into sex trafficking. This is a brutal story based on a very real situation. There is hope and there is grit when the two young women come together. This story isn't for the faint of heart but I hope that it helps advocate for this cause - a very real issue that very little is said about in main stream media. #HarperVia
September 12, 2023
this was a devastating read. i don't think it's the type of book i'm even qualified to review. while gutwrenching, harding's narrative is beautiful and sheds light on an important and imperative topic.
i do wish that the plot points were balanced a bit better across the pages—i feel like some parts were dwelled on for too long and some for too short.
full review to come.
thank you harpervia for the arc !!
i do wish that the plot points were balanced a bit better across the pages—i feel like some parts were dwelled on for too long and some for too short.
full review to come.
thank you harpervia for the arc !!
September 11, 2022
A devastating but important story, very beautifully written. The book covers the topic of sex trafficking through the stories of 2 girls from different walks of life, their friendship and the truly evil side of humanity they encounter...which exists to this day.
I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the chance to read this book!
I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the chance to read this book!
September 27, 2022
This book is a tough read because it’s about a tough subject—trafficking of young girls. Although there is a tendency to view this as a depressing novel, it throws light on a subject that we shouldn’t let go unnoticed. And as always, when times are tough, women support each other. It provides a picture of mother/daughter relationships that are not healthy—a stark reality that I wonder if readers will agree with. We are uplifted by the redeeming friendship of the two main characters, Sammy and Nico, during their forced trafficking experience. This provides a lit candle burning faithfully in an otherwise dark world. Women can cope with amazing situations and female friendship is the way women rescue and protect each other. Prepare for exposure to tough scenes but be assured women find a way.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Via for the advance review copy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Via for the advance review copy.
September 11, 2022
A devastating but important story, very beautifully written. The book covers the topic of sex trafficking through the stories of 2 girls from different walks of life, their friendship and the truly evil side of humanity they encounter...which exists to this day.
I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the chance to read this book!
I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the chance to read this book!
April 10, 2023
This is a truly heartbreaking tale of two young women, Nico and Sammy who never meet until close to the end but endure the same humiliation and abuse. Each are "sold' to a trafficker and have no idea where or why they are leaving their families. And in the final destination, Ireland they are subjected to all sorts of horror, but also some kindness and eventually they meet. Fortunately, Harding speaks to the resilience of the human spirit even as these girls suffer and wonder if they will ever be released from the prison that is often their own minds.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
November 22, 2022
In a small village in Europe, Nico is a child, playing with her friend and brother in the trees near their house. Their days are filled with school, games, and swimming. Nico’s family is poor, and when she is promised off to be married it seems to be her ticket out of her community and into something better (even though she is still a child and younger than the other brides). It seems that her life is about to begin.
Sammy is a teenager in a challenging home. She’d rather be anywhere else. One night after staying out too late she makes a decision that changes the direction of her life. Her choices and the terrible actions of others led her down a path that she never would have chosen. Fate throws her together with Nico and the two will face an uncertain future together.
Cloud Girls was an amazing story of the impact of broken family support and a society that doesn’t always see or support actions taken against women. Throughout the story there were family members and friends who should have supported the girls but failed to do so. Both were let down by a society that didn’t prioritize their individuality and safety. The book was haunting and beautifully written. At the end (which I won’t give away), as well as some of the scenes throughout the book really stay with you after the book is over. An easy 5 stars from me—I really enjoyed this meaningful and heart wrenching read.
Sammy is a teenager in a challenging home. She’d rather be anywhere else. One night after staying out too late she makes a decision that changes the direction of her life. Her choices and the terrible actions of others led her down a path that she never would have chosen. Fate throws her together with Nico and the two will face an uncertain future together.
Cloud Girls was an amazing story of the impact of broken family support and a society that doesn’t always see or support actions taken against women. Throughout the story there were family members and friends who should have supported the girls but failed to do so. Both were let down by a society that didn’t prioritize their individuality and safety. The book was haunting and beautifully written. At the end (which I won’t give away), as well as some of the scenes throughout the book really stay with you after the book is over. An easy 5 stars from me—I really enjoyed this meaningful and heart wrenching read.
September 23, 2022
This is a hard-hitting look at the world of child sex trafficking. It’s beautifully written, but gut-wrenching and anyone with sensitivity to deviant sexual situations should avoid it. The story is told from two POVs – 12-year-old Nico (Nicoletta) and 15-year-old Sammy (Samantha). Nico (from Moldova) is sold into the global sex trade when her destitute father makes what he thinks is a marriage deal. Streetwise Sammy (from Dublin) falls into the trade when she runs away from an abusive mother and an absent father and needs money to live. The two stories dovetail, with the girls coming to depend on one another to survive the horrors of their situation. This is an unflinching look at the harsh reality of sex trafficking and the cruelty which humans inflict on one another. My heart hurt for Nico and Sammy and all the girls, and boys, that are living in deplorable situations in real life. This is fiction at its best, giving readers a chance to learn about and develop sympathies for others outside their relatively small spheres of knowledge.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for a chance to read and review this book before it’s published
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for a chance to read and review this book before it’s published
April 28, 2023
I can't remember the last time I had such a hard time finishing a book. I started it so many times and nearly DNF'd it but I hate to give up on a story. I don't have an issue with the subject matter generally so I'm not sure exactly what my problem was. I felt lost through most of the story and l, for me, it never really quite came together. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either.
April 28, 2023
Cloud Girls is a heart-wrenching story that follows two girls who become victims of sex trafficking. Sammy was desperate to escape her troubled home and fell into the wrong hands while Nico’s father married her off to someone who sold her into sex trafficking. Sammy and Nico’s paths cross and they form a friendship which enables them to survive in this terrifying world. Written in dual narratives, this powerful novel renders a harrowing world that is as unimaginable as it is real, and gives a much-needed voice to the children who never had a chance to tell their story. Harding writes about this heavy topic with the utmost consideration and respect. Cloud Girls is out now. ☁️
January 10, 2025
This was a difficult book to read. It is about sex trafficking of minors, both internationally and domestically and it takes place in Ireland. The two main characters telling the story are Sammy from Dublin and Nico from Moldova. Their stories are heartbreaking.
From the book, jacket, “heartbreaking, and breathtakingly, beautiful, Cloud Girls exposes the failings of polite society, and the cruelty that exists beneath it’s surface , yet reminds us that goodness and love can flourish in the darkest times.”
From the book, jacket, “heartbreaking, and breathtakingly, beautiful, Cloud Girls exposes the failings of polite society, and the cruelty that exists beneath it’s surface , yet reminds us that goodness and love can flourish in the darkest times.”
August 26, 2022
Excited to be one of the firsts to review this book by Lisa Harding, author of Bright Burning Things. Once again the author told a compelling, informative story about serious topics, mainly child trafficking, but also, the effects of family and child abuse, and mental illness. Definitely not an easy book to digest, but well-researched and well-written. I could not put it down. Highly recommend! 9/10.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and HarperVia for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and HarperVia for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
July 29, 2023
This book is described as “heartbreaking and breathtakingly beautiful.” Heartbreaking and downright depressing but the beautiful part is a stretch. I’ve never read a book more depressing than this one.
Read
April 17, 2023DNF @ 30%
I wanted to like this, but it just wasn't for me.
I do want to thank NetGalley and the published for the ARC! While the book wasn't for me, I'm sure it will be enjoyed by others.
I wanted to like this, but it just wasn't for me.
I do want to thank NetGalley and the published for the ARC! While the book wasn't for me, I'm sure it will be enjoyed by others.
April 24, 2023
Recommended.
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2...
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2...
May 10, 2023
Skimmed and too sad for me.
May 18, 2023
Heartbreaking but so beautifully written. Pulls you under and doesn’t let you back up. This will sit with me for a while.
Read
July 8, 2023I found this really hard to get into — the dynamic between main characters reminds me of so many others I have already read, and I just can't get in the mood to go through with it again.
January 13, 2024
A harrowing tale of two young girls who are both thrown into sex trafficking and lean on one another while they navigate what no person should ever have to.
May 25, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
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