2.5 stars
I need to be clear that these stories are incredibly important. I am glad they were told. This is an issue I am deeply passionate about, so it always makes me glad to see that it’s being talked about.

As far as the writing for this, I was very disappointed, especially considering that the author is a journalist. The writing was distractingly disorganized and oddly self-serving. Also, the amount of exclamation marks drove me crazy.

I wish the interviews and stories could be turned into a podcast or some other media so that they could be heard.

The statistics, what ones Villa was able to find, were horrifying and overwhelming. How many people are in slavery in our time and how much money is being made off of their misery is more than I can handle. Some of the stats were a little repetitive in the beginning, but that’s understandable given how large the numbers are and how little concrete information we have at this point.

I can’t critique this book much because of the subject matter. Could some of the transitions been clearer or statistics better introduced? Yes, but the writing was clear overall and each new section made my heart ache for a new reason. It is emotionally harrowing to read these stories. If you try to read this book make sure you’re honest with yourself about what you can handle and what may haunt you too much to be healthy.

It is important and necessary that this book has been written and is available to readers. It follows three people in-depth but tells the stories of millions of others. It covers a subject that I connect with because I can remember how my perception changed in regards to sex workers vs sex slaves. I can recall my father coming home from trucking and complaining about “lot lizards” (a derogatory term for people-usually women- who go from 18 wheeler to 18 wheeler attempting to sell sex) waking him up and how he would respond to get them to leave, sometimes threatening them to ensure they left. As a child I thought “why would these women do this to themselves?” As a new adult I worked in a Domestic Violence Shelter where I began to learn how often people are sold into sex slavery right here in America. I forced my father to save the Truckers against Trafficking number in his phone and promise me to call if he saw any person going from truck to truck and report it. These are people’s lives that are being sold and ruined and most of us are never aware.

Slaves Among Us covers different countries and shows how each country ignores or remains unaware of the trafficking going on within its borders. I believe that small changes can help. It’s nice to imagine fixing this problem, or any huge problem, at the source, but all too often this feat is too much for even an entire country. While we are striving for a total overhaul we can still contribute to a better world. Small things like calling a Trafficking hotline, maintaining awareness of trafficking areas, spreading awareness of the situation, and helping trafficking survivors to share their story or recover with anonymity as they choose all help to slow and stop this awful empire.

I absolutely recommend this book. You may not be able to finish it. I personally was not able to finish it for emotional health reasons, but I read enough to know that I can endorse it.

This eye-opening book does a wonderful job of educating readers in the world of human trafficking with facts and resources. But most importantly, it gives us three accounts from former slaves, victims of the atrocities that are committed every day around the world. With everything happening in the news today, it's easy to forget that there are worse things happening to more people than we could ever imagine. I applaud this author for taking up this cause and using her platform to educate others on such an issue.

"Slaves Among Us" provides details about global, modern slavery. The author looked at both forced labor and sex-trafficking slavery and had examples from various places in the world. While there were a few action points that the average person can do to help combat modern slavery, the book seemed more about educating people about the problem and a call for certain types of professionals to help fill current needs. The author mainly focused on the personal accounts of 3 people who experienced slavery. She added commentary about how people are tricked into slavery, what they go through, how they get free, and what they struggle with once they're free. She also talked some about what organizations are out there to help, what's being done, and what needs to be done in the future to really help victims and stop slavery. While the book was very informative, it's also hard to read what these people went through. However, I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to be better informed about this important issue.

It is not new to me that slavery still exists in the world, but I will be honest in that I don't think about it often. I do try and adjust my habits, such as avoiding makeup with mica in it, but human trafficking is not high on my radar.

This book is very eye opening. it shows the story of three people from around the world (including the United States) who became trafficked and how this happened and how it continues to happen. These are not easy to read stories, but these three at least have happy endings unlike many of these stories.

This is an important book and one where I connected to the people, and one that made me more invested in what is going on in the world around me that I have been ignorant to.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have read numerous books about human trafficking. This book provides a great overview of human trafficking and it is an important subject for people to understand.

This book wrecked me. Seriously. Before reading "Slaves Among Us", I knew virtually nothing about human trafficking, and the stats alone were overwhelming. Even by the most conservative estimates, there are over 40.3 MILLION slaves in the world right now, despite slavery being illegal in every single country on earth. About 25% of the worlds slaves are children. I'll do the math for you... that means there are over ten million child slaves on earth right now. Slavery is a 150 BILLION dollar industry, and slaves can be found in the supply chains of virtually every major company.

While the numbers are staggering, Villa shows the humanity of this issue through extensive quotes and interviews, primarily with 3 former slaves. She reveals how they were groomed for trafficking, the conditions of their slavery, how they escaped, and - devastatingly- the complications and corruption that hindered their recoveries and reintegration.

Though the task is daunting, there is definitely hope. In the last chapters, Villa shares stories of heroes of the movement and encouraging progress being made globally, through law enforcement, and in grass roots organizations (including the author's own organization).

Please read this book. There is so much work to be done in eradicating slavery, and it starts with educating ourselves.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion, which I am always happy to give. Many thanks to #NetGalley , author Monique Villa, and #SlavesAmongUs