Happy Release Day! A Review of A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison

A Walk Across the Sun is the debut novel of Corban Addison. When I first learned of this book, the topic caught my attention as I've seen a number of documentaries on the the issue of human trafficking. I also recently read about this topic in the Fall edition of Columbia Magazine published by Columbia University. Check out the books description...

Corban Addison leads readers on a chilling, eye-opening journey into Mumbai's seedy underworld--and the nightmare of two orphaned girls swept into the international sex trade.

When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless. With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school. They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade.

Halfway across the world, Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis-and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it. Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals. 

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down.  And when I had to put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to it! The reader is sucked right into the incredibly sad misfortune of these two sisters. It's an adult book, but many parts read as YA because alternating chapters are written from the perspective of the sisters. The story progresses back and forth between the sisters, Ahalya, Sita and the lawyer, Thomas Clark.

 The author, Corban Addison has amazing writing skills. It's hard to believe this is his first book!  He actually is an attorney and has an interest in human rights issues. His expertise and passion certainly come across in the story. He expertly weaves the plight of the two sisters with the personal and marital crisis of Clark, the attorney, so not only are you on the edge of your seat as you flip through the pages to learn the fate of the girls, you also wonder what will become of Clark, professionally as well as in his marriage. This story will open your eyes to how prevalent the international sex trade is. It's often going on right in front of your eyes and you don't have a clue.

 A Walk Across the Sun is an amazing story filled with intrigue, tragedy, action and joy. You'll be thinking about it long after the last page is turned. It releases today, 12/3/12 by Silver Oak/ Sterling Publishing.

Toodles!