Dime in Mock Printz 2026

May 02, 2015 elissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my_10s_reads, youngadult, urbanfiction, survival_stories

This is hard to rate. It's not a book that I necessarily "like", but it's incredibly well done. Frank did a masterful job at making a rough, horrible subject accessible to ages 14 and up. The language was well done and very believable. Dime is a character that I'll remember. I didn't notice the face in the "D" on the cover, until I was looking at the cover small on goodreads. Going on my 2015favorites shelf for the moment, but I'm not sure it'll stay there. 3 1/2 stars.

I'd nominate it for Cap Ch ...more

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Dec 19, 2014 Barbara rated it really liked it

Shelves: families, identity, writing, school, alcohol, community, travel, human-trafficking, crime, friendship

Dime is not an easy book to read, but then again, the life that she and other girls in her situation lead is not easy either. A foster child, she has watched a series of children come and go in the foster home she shares with Janelle. It's hard to get a fix on the older woman. She seems to care for the little ones left in care, but often seems helpless and frustrated and downright cruel when she is drinking. Perhaps she is jealous of Dime's youth. When life at home becomes too problematic and Ja Dime is not an easy book to read, but then again, the life that she and other girls in her situation lead is not easy either. A foster child, she has watched a series of children come and go in the foster home she shares with Janelle. It's hard to get a fix on the older woman. She seems to care for the little ones left in care, but often seems helpless and frustrated and downright cruel when she is drinking. Perhaps she is jealous of Dime's youth. When life at home becomes too problematic and Janelle expects her to miss school to help out, Dime ends up on the street. Circumstances lead to her ending up with Daddy, a would-be kingpin with a stable of girls, eventually including L.A., Brandy, Dime, and Lollipop. Daddy is a piece of work with his gleaming "D" on one tooth, and his smooth-talking ways. Having known little love or security, Dime falls for it all, hook, line, and sinker, and before she realizes it, she's turning tricks to help him pay the rent. After all, she needs a place to stay, and he loves her, doesn't he? Little by little, Dime loses herself until there are only a few parts that she recognizes. When she realizes what Daddy's plans mean for Lollipop, she somehow reaches down deep and finds a way to save someone and possibly herself. Providing just enough details for verisimilitude, the author does a marvelous job of putting readers right into Dime's shoes. It's easy to see how she followed Daddy's commands, but it's also easy to see how life became just more of the same, day after day, and what might sicken, horrify, or repulse readers just became her way to survive. One of the aspects that I enjoyed the most was how Dime was a reader, familiar with To Kill a Mockingbird, Number the Stars, and The Book Thief, and writes the note that tells her story through the voices of Sex and Money. It's hard to think of any other narrators that could tell her story more effectively. This is an important book, set primarily in New Jersey, and it will surely prompt a great deal of discussion. Clearly, human trafficking occurs closer to home than readers might be comfortable realizing. ...more

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Apr 17, 2015 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult-teen

Brutal. Brilliant. At Reading Rants: http://www.readingrants.org/2015/04/1... ...more

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Aug 21, 2015 Angela rated it really liked it

Amazing. I loved Dime, the character, for her strength and goodness in the midst of such horrible events and people. I still don't understand how anyone could come through a situation like that unscathed (and who says she did...). Her love of books broke my heart a little. LOVED her attempts to narrate as Sex and Truth after reading parts of a WWII book narrated by Death.
The book ended too abruptly for me. I needed to know more of what happened next for these characters. Otherwise this would ha ...more

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Mar 30, 2016 Connie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teen

I thought this book covered the topic of teenage sex trafficking well, particularly how teens can slip into a situation like this without even realizing where they are headed. The book does a good job of realistically portraying the most vulnerable to this type of crime and how hard it can be to escape it.

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Jun 02, 2015 Meghan rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya

Gritty stuff. Pair it with Rachel Lloyd's Girls Like Us. Teen readers are going to circulate this until it falls apart in their hands. ...more

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Jul 27, 2015 Katie added it

Shelves: survival

This was such a heart wrenching read - an all too real glimpse at what some girls face.

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Jan 20, 2016 Carrie rated it really liked it

Shelves: realistic-fiction, young-adult

It's not an easy one to read because of its grim content, but this is one powerful book. While I felt angry and frustrated for Dime every step of the way, the portrayal of mental abuse was definitely nuanced. The way Dime weaves story into her survival is particularly moving, and I appreciated her choice to emulate The Book Thief by having Money or Sex narrate her final note.

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