Reviews
A runaway and school dropout by age 12 who worked the streets for a brutal pimp, Phelps finally freed herself and is now a lawyer also working with a global collective helping survivors of sex trafficking rebuild their lives. This memoir, following hard on the heels of an award-winning documentary, is stirring some interest. -- Library Journal, Praise for Runaway Girl : "This devastatingly honest memoir is not for the fainthearted . . . Kafka famously wrote, 'A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.' Runaway Girl just might become such a book. [Phelps] gives the reader valuable insight into a problem that is larger than most people realize." - San Francisco Chronicle "Phelps is a success . . . [a] remarkable story." -NPR "Carissa Phelps's story illustrates the power each of us has to speak the words that are the difference between life and death, freedom and imprisonment, success and failure. Carissa is brilliant. She's changing our world for the better, not despite what she's been through, but specifically because of it." -Rhonda Sciortino, radio host of Crack the Code and author of Succeed Because of What You've Been Through "Riveting . . . A genuinely important book that casts the problem of sex trafficking in America into stunning, heartbreaking relief." - Kirkus Reviews " Runaway Girl may break your heart but I promise it will ultimately awe and inspire you. No child should have to endure what Carissa did, but thousands do. Her story is a testimony to the resilience of these children and the difference a caring individual can make in their lives. If you have any doubts whether one person can make a difference in the life of a traumatized, 'delinquent,' young person, Runaway Girl should put them to rest." -Dr. Howard Zehr, professor of restorative justice, Eastern Mennonite University's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and author of What Will Happen to Me? "Runaway Girl demonstrates a great amount of insight and maturity. Crisp writing and perfectly chosen events highlight the story of what happens to the majority of twelve-year-olds on the street." - School Library Journal , selected as a Best Adult Books for Teens of the Year "As a captivating account of the triumph of a battered heart, Runaway Girl is truly a modern profile in courage, a spiritual odyssey, and a riveting read. Any child who experienced the trauma that Carissa Phelps so poignantly portrays will gain comfort, encouragement, and hope in reading this book." -Paul Freese, Public Counsel Law Center "A brave memoir." -Publishers Weekly "What happens to the thousands of kids every year in the United States who are forced to leave home? Many of them are find themselves in the same situation Carissa Phelps did: fallen between the cracks in foster care and forced by a vicious exploiter to walk the streets. With courage, insight, and unflinching honesty, Carissa reveals the truth about her life as a runaway, bringing to light the many issues facing homeless youth while providing them with a beacon of hope to follow. I want everyone who cares about our country's young people to read this book." -Janice Erlbaum, author of Girlbomb "This book is provocative in the best sense of the word: it incites readers to help. . . . Runaway Girl is an effective, socially aware book that offers unique insight into one woman's personal experiences with trauma and recovery and her journey to find herself in a difficult, frightening, and ultimately supportive world." -Katie Shaeffer, BookshelfBombshells.com "With not a trace of victimhood or unplaced drama, this is a terrific addition to all collections." -Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, Juvenile Hall, CA " Runaway Girl should be required reading for anyone with kids, especially girls, in their lives." -Jesika Long, Jesikalong.Tumblr.com " Runaway Girl is both a cautionary tale about the realities of sex-trafficking in the U.S. and an inspirational story of the change that is possible with the help of others. A very important read for both parents and teenagers." -Vera Pereskokova, SheKnows.com, Praise for Runaway Girl : "This devastatingly honest memoir is not for the fainthearted. . . . Kafka famously wrote, 'A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.' Runaway Girl just might become such a book. [Phelps] gives the reader valuable insight into a problem that is larger than most people realize." - San Francisco Chronicle "Runaway Girl demonstrates a great amount of insight and maturity. Crisp writing and perfectly chosen events highlight the story of what happens to the majority of 12 year olds on the street." - School Library Journal , selected as one of the " Best Adult Books for Teens 2012 " "Riveting . . . A genuinely important book that casts the problem of sex trafficking in America into stunning, heartbreaking relief." - Kirkus Reviews "A brave memoir" - Publishers Weekly "A runaway and school dropout by age 12 who worked the streets for a brutal pimp, Phelps finally freed herself and is now a lawyer also working with a global collective helping survivors of sex trafficking rebuild their lives. This memoir, following hard on the heels of an award-winning documentary, is stirring some interest." - Library Journal, In this brave memoir, Phelps spares no detail of her loveless, troubled childhood. In the second grade, her stepfather throws her out the door in front of the school bus as her mother watches. One of 11 children in a rundown house in Coalinga, Calif., Phelps skips classes and curses her teacher in the first days of junior high. By 12, she drops out and rarely comes home. When she does, her mother drives her to a juvenile hall and leaves. The state sends her to group homes, but she always runs away, preferring the freedom of the streets, where she meets crack-addicted Natara, a prostitute, and Icey, a pimp, a pair who promise to take care of her. Despite the unspeakable atrocities done to her along the way, Phelps is too young and naïve to escape their dark web. After Icey is arrested for other crimes, Phelps is raped by older men who subsequently discard her. Finally, after stealing a car, she lands in the Youth Authority detention center. There, she meets her first mentor, counselor Ron Jenkins. Slowly and with setbacks, Phelps rebuilds her life and graduates from high school thanks to the perseverance of a teacher. She finds love and acceptance through the kindness of strangers who see her potential. Later, while earning a law degree and M.B.A. from UCLA, the author, as she explains, takes great strides to reach out to troubled kids, and creates a documentary, Carissa, about her life. -- Publishers Weeklyl, A California attorney and youth advocate's rivetingly raw account of the years she spent as a runaway, juvenile delinquent and prostitute. Phelps grew up with 11 brothers and sisters in "a noisy, crowded house where the competition for space, food, and attention never stopped" and where money and parental affection were in short supply. To escape, the author began frequenting the homes of neighborhood friends. By the time she was 12, she had become adept at "strategizing about where to sleep and how (not even what) I was going to eat." Her habits led her exasperated mother to abandon her at the Fresno County juvenile hall. From there, she took to the streets and became entangled with a series of pimps and drug addicts, who brutalized her both physically and emotionally. Two dispiriting years later, Phelps landed at Wakefield, a last-chance reform institution for girls, where she met two people who changed her life: a counselor who helped her regain her self-esteem and a teacher who reignited her love of mathematics. After leaving Wakefield, Phelps returned to school, graduated, went to college at Fresno State and completed a joint J.D./business degree program at UCLA. But the fight was not over. In her personal life, she "burned through friendships, drank [herself] silly, and dated recklessly." Only after she made the commitment to help troubled, sexually exploited girls did Phelps begin to find an end to the restlessness that had kept her on the run. A genuinely important book that casts the problem of sex trafficking in America into stunning, heartbreaking relief. -- Kirkus Reviews
