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Book Summary and Reviews of Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall

Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall

Hidden Girl

The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave

by Shyima Hall

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  • Jan 2014, 240 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt's capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima's servitude - but her journey to true freedom was far from over.

A volunteer at her local police department since she was a teenager, Shyima is passionate about helping to rescue others who are in bondage. Now a US citizen, she regularly speaks out about human trafficking and intends to one day become an immigration officer. In Hidden Girl, Shyima candidly reveals how she overcame her harrowing circumstances and brings vital awareness to a timely and relevant topic.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Shyima is realistic about her challenges but optimistic, too. Her story holds attention without being too graphic - indeed, for some readers, there may be too little visceral communication of the horror of Shyima's situation. Nevertheless, she commands unfailing interest, sympathy, and respect." - Publishers Weekly

"The proximity to pain makes for a choppy narrative but also vitally draws attention to a global crisis." - Kirkus

This information about Hidden Girl was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Ale valencia

Loved it
It was very interesting and shows how she her traumatic experience shaped her into the strong independent woman she now is. It was emotional and had a happy ending.

KMM

Hidden Girl
In reading this book, I learned more about Egypt, the United States, and what modern-day slavery is. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to stop human trafficking.

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Author Information

Shyima Hall

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt and sold into slavery at the age of eight. When she was ten, her captors brought her to the United States on an illegally obtained temporary visa, and two years later she was rescued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and moved to a group home. Shyima became an American citizen at age twenty-one and hopes to become an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. When Shyima is not working or volunteering at the police station, she enjoys listening to music, watching movies, and spending time with her friends. Shyima lives in Riverside County, California.

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