Joel Smallbone

(4.5 / 5)

"...you are a pearl of great price. Do not cheapen your own treasure."

After a terrible accident claimed his wife, and bad choices result in the loss of custody of his daughter, James is desperate to get back on his feet so he can be with his daughter again. With reservation, he takes a cash job driving a truck for a delivery, but before he reaches his destination, he discovers that the cargo is human--two young, Mexican women. He follows through on the delivery, believe he is simply transporting illegal aliens, but at the end of the trip, there is no doubt that these young women are destined for something that no woman should have to be part of. He can't just return home and leave them to their fate.

While the beginning of the book was a little difficult to get through, and it took some time for me to warm up to James, the overall story, and the message of this book, are well worth the read. I knew the basic story here, having seen the movie when it first came out 3 years ago, but didn't remember the details, and found myself caught up in it as the story unfolded.

The book starts with the death of James's wife, and then with his stupid decision to traffic drugs, which promptly lands him in jail. It's depressing and a little painful to read. I assume it was specifically that way to get James to the point where he'd do almost anything to make some money, especially with the threat of losing custody of his daughter completely, once he's out of jail. But it still took some time and deliberate plodding through to get to the beginning of the real story--when he discovers the women in the truck. Again I say, it's worth it.

The writing could be better, but to be honest, I didn't care. I can live with some weak sentences and a slightly confusing line now and then for something so important. The heart of this story was to shed light on the sex trafficking that is far too prevalent in the shadows in our world. Seeing what these women go through in various stages of being forced into prostitution is heartbreaking and really makes you root for James and his new friend Dale.

Speaking of Dale--he's my favorite character in the book, but to be honest, I don't know if I would have loved him quite so much if I didn't remember him from the movie, played so well by David Koechner. Still, he is a great friend and helper to James, and it is mainly Dale who infuses the spark of faith in God back into James. While the Christianity presented in the book isn't very strong, I think it comes across clearly enough, especially near the end.

I am not the most emotional person, but during the last 2 chapters, I think I cried more than I ever have over a book before. The message of the book can be summed up with this quote: "...there's a God who knows exactly what you're worth..." It was basically everything I would have wanted for an ending to this story. Sadly, it doesn't end this way for most women in similar situations to this.

I definitely recommend this book for Christians to read, but really, for anyone who has a daughter, sister, or any female friends or relatives...or is a female herself. It really carries past the sex trade and into our everyday lives, affecting how we see ourselves, and how we value ourselves and feel we should be valued.… (més)

This is the hard-hitting story of a man whose life goes off the rails after his wife dies. In a desperate attempt to make some money so he can reclaim custody of his daughter, James gets tangled in a sex trafficking operation and embarks on a mission to rescue two sisters from the life of slavery they’ve been entrapped in.

I’ve been interested in seeing/reading this movie/book for a while now, so I was very happy to get my hands on the book! It’s a gut-wrenching and heart-breaking reflection of a very sad reality for a lot of women, but it’s also a story of rescue and redemption, selfless love, faith, and second chances. I still want to see the movie at some point!… (més)