Jasmina, rescued from the India slavery scene by Christian missionaries, has left the safety of the mission to search for her brother Samir. The last she saw, he was working in a quarry. When she finds him, she is astonished to learn that he has worked himself up the ladder and is one of the top men in the slavery trade. This was a touching and heartfelt book. I really felt for Jasmina, as she tried to reunite with her family. Overall, well worth reading. ( )

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. It is the story of a teenager in India who was sold by her parents many years earlier, and is seeking to find them and her brother. It turns out it was a book aimed for teen readers, but it was well-written and the actual story is enjoyable enough for adults as well, except for one thing - the catholic religious indoctrination that unfortunately turned out to be the main theme of the book. I was born a Catholic myself but I am appalled by people who claim and try to convince others that their religion and their god is better than others, and this book clearly tried to drive home that ignorant and offensive proposition. In fact the one line that made me want to instantly throw out the book was ‘People tend to act like whatever God they follow…” – implying that all the bad people in the book are bad because they’re not Catholic, and that all the good people are good because of their faith. That is simply preposterous. For the religious proselytizing alone, I am giving this book a major thumbs-down. ( )