Trigger Warning: This article and the books recommended within it discuss topics of slavery and human trafficking. Please exercise personal care while reading.
Welcome back to Bookstr’s Three to Read, a weekly recommendation series that spotlights three can’t-miss books on a specific topic. Our latest theme honors National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. This annual observance, which takes place each January, sheds light on the inhumane crimes of slavery and human trafficking and recognizes the incredible resilience of survivors.
Though the three books we’re recommending today present slavery and human trafficking through a historical fiction lens, these issues are both real and relevant in the modern day. Keep reading to learn how our picks bring necessary attention to the harrowing truth of these exploitative offenses.
HOT PICK
Straw Dogs of the Universe by Ye Chun
SYNOPSIS:
After their village is ravaged by famine, ten-year-old Sixiang’s mother sells her to human traffickers on the promise of a better life for her daughter in America. When Sixiang arrives in this unfamiliar place, all she has to her name is six silver coins and a bag of rice — the meager profits of her sale — along with a photograph of her absent father, Guifeng. Thus begins Sixiang’s journey across an unrelenting landscape as she tries to reunite her family and survive the violent American West.
WHY:
Straw Dogs of the Universe vividly evokes 19th-century California in this heart-wrenching family saga about a Chinese railroad worker and his young daughter. This unforgettable story sheds light on an overlooked period of history, revealing with visceral, haunting detail the horrors inflicted upon Chinese immigrants during the construction of the transcontinental railroad. Ye Chun’s powerful, poetic writing acknowledges the stunning resilience of these workers, delivering a message of hope, courage, belonging, and love.
COFFEE SHOP READ
The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
SYNOPSIS:
Enslaved to a businessman in New Orleans’ French Quarter, Ady and her mother, Sanite, dream of a better future. When the two are separated, Ady finds herself lost and in despair until she happens upon the Mockingbird Inn and meets Lenore, a free Black woman. After offering her shelter and friendship, Lenore invites Ady to join the Daughters: a secret society of spies dedicated to the struggle for liberation. Alongside these courageous women, Ady unearths the indomitable spirit her mother instilled in her and learns to fight for the future she deserves.
WHY:
Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s latest novel is a testament to the power of community, bravery, perseverance, and enduring love. Set in pre–Civil War New Orleans, The American Daughters pulls from rich historical research and vibrant imagination to tell the stirring story of a covert resistance movement headed by Black women. Guided by a cast of fully rendered women of color, this narrative peels back layers of neglected history to confront the devastating legacy of slavery in the antebellum South.
DARK HORSE
The Mutiny Brides by Barbara Sontheimer
SYNOPSIS:
In 1719, a ship named La Mutine, or The Mutinous Woman, sailed from France to what would later be known as New Orleans. The all-women passengers, taken from one of Paris’s most infamous prisons, had been unjustly tried and labeled as beggars, thieves, and prostitutes. Upon arriving at their new home in chains, they survived years of disease, isolation, and governmental turmoil to become prosperous property owners, influential businesswomen, and matriarchs of large, wealthy families.
WHY:
The Mutiny Brides chronicles the incredible true story of the exiled Frenchwomen who built New Orleans from the ground up. Here, Barbara Sontheimer employs her signature spellbinding style to set the record straight on the Gulf Coast’s founding mothers. Contrary to what history would have you believe, these women weren’t prostitutes, murderers, or thieves; rather, they were victims — survivors — of a corrupt system. But despite being forcibly imprisoned and ousted from their home, they forged their own fortune through natural leadership ability, business prowess, and sheer determination.
That’s it for this week’s Three to Read. Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to join us next week for more curated recommendations.
To feel safe at all times is a basic human right; let’s work to make this world physically and mentally safe for everyone. We urge you to make the call to seek the help you need if you or a loved one has experienced the devastating effects of human trafficking.
To report suspected human trafficking to Federal law enforcement:
→ call 1-866-347-2423
To get help from the National Human Trafficking Hotline:
→ call 1-888-373-7888
→ text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733)
To read our other Three to Read articles, click here!
Browse these books and more reads handpicked by the Bookstr team on our Three to Read bookshelf on Bookshop!
