"Somebody's Daughter" Book Analysis Essay

Introduction

In the non-fiction book "Somebody's daughter," the author Julian Sher writes about the plight of young minors who are prostituted in the leading casino destination in the United States of American and tells a story of young girls who the world has turned their back on. As an investigative journalist, Julian Sher presents the hidden story of children who are trafficked as child prostitutes across America's notorious drug and pleasure hubs. The young children are isolated, physically abused, and brainwashed by their pimps which ensure that they have no way out of their predicament. Sher shows detest of how musicians, books, and movies glorify pimping at the expense of young girls who are denied a chance to lead a normal life (Sher, 2013). This book review will assess how Julian Sher an investigative journalist articulates the plight of young children who are made to sell their bodies by cartels and the role of the criminal justice agencies in helping the children.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Julian Sher introduces a young girl who knows nothing else in life apart from prostitution and despite appearing to be leading a normal life. Maria was introduced to prostitution when she was just fourteen years old, and she has grown to know nothing else except the pimps who sell her to the highest bidder for their benefits. Through rough ordeals such as violent rape, Maria depicts the life of girls who have been forgotten since the economic meltdown which increased child poverty and prostitution. In the book "Somebody's daughter," the author shows the plight of young girls in a modern democracy who have been ignored and left behind to be imprisoned by the desire for money and pleasure which is offered at the price of their freedom. Sher shows how racial prejudice has infiltrated the business from the account of Maria where the white girls are said to be more profitable than their African American counterparts which shows why the children traffickers prefer the white girls as modern sex slaves.

The book is a well-articulated account of the plight of Maria, a young woman who has been in the business of children sex trafficking as a victim since she was fourteen. Sher can create detest of a culture that most Americans have been able to come into terms with and accept it as a type of living and lucrative business as depicted in the movies and music today. Through the plight of Maria and the law enforcement agencies which have dedicated their efforts towards curtailing the vice seeks to raise public interest and support to fight child prostitution in American cities.

In another case, Felicia a young girl from Mexico who has arrived in the United States with her uncle became a victim of child prostitution due to the neglect of the law enforcement sloppy justice and her irresponsible mother. At a young age, Felicia was abused by her uncle who was charged with a misdemeanor instead of molesting and raping an underage and vulnerable young girl. When Felicia's mother allowed the man who had molested Felicia return to her house after his jail term, she pushed the vulnerable Felicia to the streets. In the streets, Felicia was vulnerable to the pimps because she was looking out for men to take care of her which made her a victim of child prostitution at the age of fourteen (Sher, 2013).

Demarcus Jones and Bobby Hall took advantage of Felicia's vulnerable situation in the streets used her and sold her to prostitution. With Trina another vulnerable girl she had met in juvenile detention she further went deep to child prostitution in exchange for somewhere to stay. Peebo who Felicia was introduced to by Trina was already in his forties and deceived Felicia into believing that she was going to be a babysitter. Peebo whose real name was Buggs and had previously been in a violent marital relationship started using Felicia for sex and even sold her out for the same. After repeated sexual abuse and body harm Felicia was finally rescued, but at the detention center, she was viewed as a criminal and a runaway by her mother (Sher, 2013).

Conclusion

This book is very relevant to parents, social service officers, and criminal justice officials. Parents are responsible for protecting their children and also for providing them with the necessary healthcare and education. Felicia's mother failed to protect her, and she became a victim of child sexual abuse and prostitution to make a living in the streets. On the other hand, the social service and criminal justice officials will benefit from the book by informing them on the plight of the vulnerable children and the causes of their vulnerability which can be used to end child prostitution.