Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall - ESSENTIAL

Hall, Shyima Hidden Girl, 232 pages.  Simon and Schuster, 2014.  $12.  Content: G.  

When Shyima was eight, she was basically sold into slavery in order to pay off her sister’s debt.  Her job is do everything that she is ordered to - on little or no food - and accept her beatings if she doesn’t please.  When the family moves to America, Shyima is the only servant they bring along.  Forcing her to live in darkness in the garage and do everything around the house.  When an ICE agent arrives with the police in tow, Shyima starts her long, painful journey into becoming a person of her own and finding her way in this world.  

It’s hard to look at the book and see the Shyima is only now in her 20’s - only a few years removed from her slavery days.  She includes information on the estimates of how many slaves live in the US and signs to watch for - in case you might be able to rescue someone like her.  This would be an excellent classroom novel for a geography class or world cultures.

MS, HS - ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher