One Among Us

Book excerpt: Eleven-year-old Maggie Clarke is living a nightmare most children couldn't imagine in their wildest dreams. She's been abducted from her suburban Philadelphia family and thrust into the indescribably horrific and largely unknown underworld of human sex trafficking. Maggie doesn't yet realize that her abduction will change her life forever. She's focused on caring for four-year-old Seth, who was also abducted. Years pass and though Maggie's family never gives up searching for her, she's living the dangerous and degrading life of an underage prostitute. Maggie's smarts usually keep her one step ahead of her pimp, but her boldness sometimes earns her severe punishments from the man who controls her every move. Her close relationship with a drug dealer named JuJu and her continuing role as mother to Seth are what give her the strength to keep going through her brutal existence. After nearly a decade, when a man approaches her with a dangerous proposition, will Maggie be willing to do whatever it takes to break free from this modern form of slavery? An unforgettable story of courage and survival, One Among Us serves as an eye-opening reminder that horrible things can happen to anyone-it's how people deal with their circumstances that matters.