What Unbreakable Looks Like (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781250173805)

Raw, unflinching, and authentic, Kate McLaughlin's thoughtful What Unbreakable Looks Like carefully crafts a story exposing the vulnerability of underage trafficked girls and what it takes to begin the process of healing from sexual trauma.-Christa Desir, author, advocate, and founding member of The Voices and Faces Project

Lex was taken-trafficked-and now she's Poppy. Kept in a hotel with other girls, her old life is a distant memory. But when the girls are rescued, she doesn't quite know how to be Lex again.

After she moves in with her aunt and uncle, for the first time in a long time, she knows what it is to feel truly safe. Except, she doesn't trust it. Doesn't trust her new home. Doesn't trust her new friend. Doesn't trust her new life. Instead she trusts what she shouldn't because that's what feels right. She doesn't deserve good things.

But when she is sexually assaulted by her so-called boyfriend and his friends, Lex is forced to reckon with what happened to her and that just because she is used to it, doesn't mean it is okay. She's thrust into the limelight and realizes she has the power to help others. But first she'll have to confront the monsters of her past with the help of her family, friends, and a new love.

Kate McLaughlin's What Unbreakable Looks Like is a gritty, ultimately hopeful novel about human trafficking through the lens of a girl who has escaped the life and learned to trust, not only others, but in herself.

Author: Kate McLaughlin
ISBN-10: 1250173809
ISBN-13: 9781250173805
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Language: English
Published: 06/23/2020
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.30w x 1.30d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.8
Point Value: 12
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 515479 / What Unbreakable Looks Like


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2020
Booklist 06/01/2020 pg. 84

About the Author
KATE McLAUGHLIN likes people, so much so that she spends her days making up her own. She likes writing about characters who are bent, but not broken - people who find their internal strength through friends, strife and sometimes humor. When she's not writing, she likes studying people, both real and fictional. She also likes playing board games with friends, talking and discovering new music. A proud Nova Scotian, she'll gladly tell you all about the highest tides in the world, the magical creation known as a donair, and people who have sofas in their kitchens. Currently, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and four cats. She's the author of What Unbreakable Looks Like.