What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin

What Unbreakable Looks Like

by Kate McLaughlin

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Synopsis:

Lex was taken – trafficked - and now she’s Poppy. Kept in a hotel with other girls, her old life is a distant memory. But when the girls are rescued, she doesn’t quite know how to be Lex again.

After she moves in with her aunt and uncle, for the first time in a long time, she knows what it is to feel truly safe. Except, she doesn’t trust it. Doesn't trust her new home. Doesn’t trust her new friend. Doesn’t trust her new life. Instead she trusts what she shouldn’t because that's what feels right. She doesn’t deserve good things.

But when she is sexually assaulted by her so-called boyfriend and his friends, Lex is forced to reckon with what happened to her and that just because she is used to it, doesn’t mean it is okay. She’s thrust into the limelight and realizes she has the power to help others. But first she’ll have to confront the monsters of her past with the help of her family, friends, and a new love.

Kate McLaughlin’s What Unbreakable Looks Like is a gritty, ultimately hopeful novel about human trafficking through the lens of a girl who has escaped the life and learned to trust, not only others, but in herself.

Review:

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book wasn't perfect, but it was pretty dam close. What Unbreakable Looks Like is the story of Lex and her life after she is rescued from her life of prostitution. Picking up where Lex left off before her life in the sex trade is extremely difficult. With severe trust issues, fear of being sucked back into her old life and dealing with her new high school Lex is in for a fight if she hopes to take her life back.

What Unbreakable Looks Like is gritty, harsh, raw and completely captivating. Reading about Lex's recovery was heartbreaking while also hopeful. I felt this book was able to find a perfect balance in getting the imagery of life as a forced sex worker without being overly graphic. I think even if you do have a rough time getting through books that deal with mature, graphic topics such as this you should still be able to get through it. The writing was captivating; I found myself drawn into the story from the very first page. While the story was hard to read it was also difficult to put down. For me this is a definite must read.