Blurb

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.

Trigger Warnings: Rape, Coercion, Human Trafficking & Abuse.

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Review

In my country today we’re in a state of emergency because of the alarming rate at which babies, toddlers, young girls and women are being molested, harassed, raped and killed. Due to all this, it has made What Unbreakable Looks Like a very heavy read and this review a triggering experience in total.

It’s a heavy read for me because it had me crying due to how many of us girls and women bond over being sexually harassed, assaulted and abused all over the world.

I was hesitant to pick up this book because of its content but even though it’s made me sad, bitter and angry because of the ordeals some humans face from the hands of other humans, I’m very fond of this story.

It’s a tragic story, with so much positivity, I wish everyone forced into this life could get this kind of support when they’re being reassimilated back into the normal world, but as this book highlights, the grooming and Stockholm syndrome is so severe that for many it never happens.

The characters are fleshed out wonderfully, there are no plot holes, the pacing of the story is even, the message is loud and clear. Lex, Krys, Jamal, Elsa, Zack, Detective Willis, the dogs all the good people in this story made me want to be like them, to be able to offer this support to people who are in need and let them know, they matter, are wanted and loved.

Just because something bad happened to them, doesn’t mean they’re unworthy and less deserving and anyone who has a problem with them because of that, are the ones who need change their perspective when it comes to life.

This is a wonderful story of healing, and I can say with this book Wednesday Books have done it again and will forever have my utmost support when it comes to the books they publish.

Despite the heavy subject matters, this book is an endearing one, that will make you happy as you read it and get to the last page. Please if it’s not triggering for you, give this story a chance, so you can learn a few helpful life tips.

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 humour. 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.

Thank you, Wednesday Books, for including me in this blog tour.

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