Slavery and sex trafficking still occur today. In parts of the world, when a female is kidnapped, most of the time she is sold to serve others through slavery or prostitution. The horrifying things these girls and women are forced to endure should never be experienced by anyone.
Allison Wagner, an American journalist, travels to Vietnam to write a story on how this Asian country has improved since the end of the Vietnam War. Besides doing research for her story, she also has personal reasons for visiting Vietnam. Her dad fought in the war. He died in a POW. camp, and she wanted to see where his life came to an end.
Trung introduces her to his aunt and niece. Lan, his niece, has just graduated from school and wants to go to nursing school. A well-dressed man has offered her the chance to attend a nursing school while working as a nanny. Allison is suspicious of this offer.
Still, Lan decides to take advantage of this offer. She soon finds that her dream has turned into a nightmare. The orchid bracelet that Trung gave her as a graduation gift is all the she has to remind her of home. This bracelet turns out to be even more special than she realizes.
Allison and Trung set out to find his niece in a country where thousands of women and children are forced into captivity, and the police don’t do anything to stop it. Will they succeed in rescuing Lan from a life of slavery and prostitution?
Along the way, Allison and those who read this book learn much about the country of Vietnam, its customs, and its superstitions.
Amidst all of Allison’s travels around Vietnam and her experiencing the daily life of the Vietnamese, enough suspense was present to keep me wanting to turn the page. The parts of the story that showed what the young girls and women experienced at the hand of slave traders and brothel madams could be a bit unsettling for some. These parts were not unnecessarily graphic, but they did show how humiliating and terrifying their lives became.
At the end of the book, you will find a list of the characters in the order of their appearance. After the guide to the characters, you will find a set of questions suitable for discussion. Following the discussion questions are several pictures from Vietnam and Cambodia that allow you to see different parts of these countries.
I bought my copy of this book from Amazon. If you would like to purchase your own copy to read, I have provided an Amazon link below.
Amazon link: The Orchid Bracelet
Favorite Sentences:
The fishermen paint the eyes on the boats in order to keep evil water spirits away.
Guerrilla warfare has no rules – just about anything goes.
What the images on her camera could not capture, however, were the sounds – the squeals of the children, the barking dogs, the women’s continuous chatter, and the waves slapping against the shoreline.
The swampy concoction attracted flies, maggots, and hungry children scrounging for anything of value.
New Words Learned:
areca nuts– the astringent kernels of the seed of the betel palm, chewed in many tropical regions in combination with slaked lime and the leaves of the betel plant. They are also called betel nuts.
Freddie Remza, outskirtspress.com
coracle – a small, round, or very broad boat made of wickerwork or interwoven laths covered with a waterproof layer of animal skin, canvas, tarred or oiled cloth, or the like
manioc – a nutritious starch from the roots, the source of tapioca
tuk-tuk – a three-wheeled motor vehicle used as a taxi
About the Author:
Freddie Remza, an educator, combines her love of writing with her passion for travel and experiencing world cultures. It was during a month’s stay in Vietnam and Cambodia that inspired her to tell this story.
You can keep up with this author on Facebook and on Freddie Remza’s Saga of the Birth of a Novel.
