Dime by E.R. Frank (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Thriller
Publication Date:	April 14, 2015
Published By:	Simon Pulse
Website	Dime on Goodreads
	E.R. Frank on Goodreads
My review copy:	Provided by publisher for honest review

 Where to get:

The realities of teen prostitution are revealed in this eye-opening, heartbreaking story from the author of America, which Booklist called "a piercing, unforgettable novel" and Kirkus Reviews deemed "a work of sublime humanity."

As a teen girl in Newark, New Jersey, lost in the foster care system, Dime just wants someone to care about her, to love her. A family. And that is exactly what she gets-a daddy and two "wifeys." So what if she has to go out and earn some coins to keep her place? It seems a fair enough exchange for love.

Dime never meant to become a prostitute. It happened so gradually, she pretty much didn't realize it was happening until it was too late.

But when a new "wifey" joins the family and Dime finds out that Daddy doesn't love her the way she thought he did, will Dime have the strength to leave? And will Daddy let her?
(Goodreads)

  I've been in a lot of dilemmas in my life, but never one as complicated as this.  I've thought up more versions of the note than I can count.
  There is so much that needs to be said

"Daddy's going to kill you," I told Brandy. Even saying Daddy made me want to slide through the floor and die, but there was nowhere to slide to and no way to die, so somehow I just kept on.

  There are four females living in a stable in Newark, New Jersey.  They have a Daddy and a clean place to sleep and food and clothes.  You could say they are being taken care of real nice.  Sex would pause here.  Or.  You could say the secrets they are keeping are like a poison eating their souls from the inside out.

  Make me money.  That smile with the gold D.  I wanted that smile from him.  I can't be with you if you don't start contributing to the household.  The feel of his arm on my shoulders and his hand in my back pocket.  You special.

  Was Daddy telling me lies to keep me happy while he was preparing to take L.A. with him down south and start up a new life?

  There is a certain feeling I get, when I think about my time spent reading this book.  Dime is written on such a serious problem that is swept under the rug without a second thought.  That being said Dime will not be the type on novel that everyone can read and digest, or read at all.  Frank made this read realistic without making it graphic.  However, this did not take away from the fact that this book is filled with brutal truths and moments that will rip you apart.

  Dime is really a novel that is hard to digest.  Not because of how it is written, but because of the hard content that it covers.  Frank dives into a world that many people prefer to pretend don't exist and it makes this book all the more powerful.  The subject of human trafficking and child prostitution is becoming something spoken of a little more frequently, and yet it remains something that is so often looked over.  The way in which Frank wove this tale is enough to make eyes open, stomachs clench and tears fall.  It's hard to talk plot and setting without really killing it, Dime is not as simple as that.

  Dime herself, is exactly what she needed to be.  Though the girls that end up in this life do not have to come from broken homes, Dime is an example that most people will have an easier time accepting.  The biggest thing is Dime's and her points of view as she writes the note that is so important.  Dime is telling her story but you see it through the eyes of sex, money and truth.  Each one bring something sadly terrifying and true to the table, but it is when Dime just writes what needs to be written that everything becomes clear.  There is no way to truly describe how Dime's character and how she feels, what she lives with and how she deals with everything.  For me there was no way to connect but the way she is written makes her so much more alive than you would ever want.

  The tragic circumstances that make Dime feel as if there is no other choice is sadly a bigger reality than most people realize.  Her story tore me apart and reminded me of why I got into the field of work that I am in.  This book though generated to inform a younger audience, is something that should only be picked up by more mature readers (young adult or not).  This is not the book that you pick up to read something light.  No, Dime is the book that you pick up when you are ready to face truths and be conflicted as to how far you can push your reading boundaries.  I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a read that goes deeper and will pull the emotions out of you.