Kim Purcell lives in Irvington but has created a world in her debut novel that seems as far away as possible.
Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as being “chillingly credible,” Trafficked tackles the little known but socially prevalent issue of human trafficking.
Beautifully written and gripping, Trafficked details the journey of a seventeen-year-old Moldovan teen, Hannah, who comes to America as an illegal immigrant lured by the prospect of a better life. But what Hannah finds is not a better life. Instead, it is one of physical, verbal and sexual abuse with no pay, no freedom and no way out. Raw and intense, Trafficked offers an eye-opening and brutal portrayal of modern-day slavery, and will leave readers shocked that this kind of injustice still lingers in the world today.
Although this is a work of fiction, Trafficked is based on real-life victims of human trafficking in Moldova and other parts of the world. The author will donate 20% of sales proceeds to aid in the fight against human trafficking. Learn more at www.kimpurcell.com.
theLoop: What made you want to write this novel?
KP: I had to write this novel because I feel compelled to speak up for the people who have no voice. I like to write about fear, how it controls all of us and how we get out.
From your bio, I see that you’ve traveled around quite a bit – has this influenced your writing?
KP: Traveling has given me the ability to see what it’s like when everything around you has shifted, you no longer know the rules and you can’t communicate with anyone. These experiences really helped me write Trafficked.
In Trafficked, I couldn’t help comparing Hannah’s life and that of the boy next door who was going to run away. Was that intentional and if so, why?
KP: I love Colin, the boy next door, and I struggled with how much of him to put in the story. I certainly wanted readers to compare the two, but I didn’t think people would look at Colin and say, look, you have it so good. They are both trapped in their own fears and I like to think they both helped each other make it through.
Is there a specific message in your novel that you’d like young readers to grasp?
KP: I would love for young readers to look at their own fears and see how they are controlled by what people think and by what they feel are their own limitations. I hope they listen to that voice inside them that’s saying, hey, I’d like to do this, and then they do it, even if they’re afraid. I hope also that when they see an immigrant who doesn’t speak English well, they reach out to help.
–From Contributor Amalie Howard, a writer living in Larchmont, and the author of Bloodspell
