This is probably one of the most profoundly painful books I’ve read in a decade. I will say that if reading- very in depth descriptions of sexual abuse and trafficking is a trigger to you- you ABSOLUTELY should not read this book. If you can handle it though? This book is very well written and accurate in its portrayals. “Watching” Lex work through her healing is so inspiring. The characters are well rounded and a true representation of the fullness of REAL humans. This book does a great job of exploring how people aren’t perfect, but at the end of the day most are not monsters. I’m thankful to have read this book and gotten to know Lex’s story.

This was a tough read, but a good one. It has dark themes and heavy storylines, but it's SO worth reading. It blew me away.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings: Rape, Sexual Assault, Miscarriage, Abuse, Suicide, Domestic Violence & Self Harm.

This book was a whirlwind and the subject matter was very heavy. You hear about the horrors of these online ads that women/men get trafficked through or use at their own volition. This reminds me of the true crime novel I read this year called Lost Girls. It revolved around their disappearances, accounts of their life through friends/family and the finding of their bodies.

What this book does it show the other side. It shows you the perspective of someone from this situation, the thoughts and feelings one goes through during and after leaving, the struggle of feeling “normal” and accepting themselves to be enough to have a decent life. It’s a book that young adults should read to be aware of the horrors out there, to know what consent is, and know that actions have consequences.

The reason this book did not get the full 5 stars is the writing. The writing felt a little simplistic to me and everything ended wrapped nicely in a bow. As well, scenes were a bit jumpy. One moment she’d be at school then all of a sudden she’s back home with her aunt and you have to go back and re-read a few sentences in case you missed some.

Something else that I thought this book should have added (note - I received an uncorrected proof before publishing) is resources to contact if a reader or someone they know finds themselves in a similar situation.

**review posted to blog closer to release date**

What Unbreakable Looks Like is a well researched novel on sex trafficking. Lex’s story is one of heartbreak and unspeakable horrors. Even though this is a work of fiction, I think Kate McLaughlin’s work will help bring focus to sex trafficking, a subject that hardly anybody seems to be talking about. This wasn’t an easy or fun book to read, and you should take care when reading it, but I also truly believe that everyone should read it and educate themselves about what is happening in our country.

Thank you so much Wednesday Books, Netgalley, & Kate McLaughlin for early access to "What Unbreakable Looks Like!"

"What Unbreakable Looks Like" is a heartwrenching story of a teenager, Lex, who was lured and groomed into a human trafficking ring. When the ring gets busted, Lex finds herself in a difficult position. What will she do?

This book is definitely one of my favorite reads for 2019! However it does not come out until June 2020.

I was literally hooked by the story by the second chapter. The whole storyline was very interesting to me. I had to know if Lex makes it through the difficulties of her life. The friendships she makes were truly some of her lifelines in some of her changes.

I think Kate McLaughlin did a wonderful job writing about human trafficking. It can be a difficult subject to touch but awareness of this issue is very important. This crime is horrendous and more common that people think. She has definitely gave readers a good inside look of survivors of human trafficking.

I highly recommend this book for teens and adults! It is a beautiful and yet horrifying story that can open a good discussion for a book club.

What Unbreakable Looks Like
by Kate McLaughlin
Pub Date: 23 Jun 2020
Read courtesy of NetGalley.com

There's a group in my high school promoting the understanding of human trafficking. I think I now understand it more with this book than from the group's efforts alone to educate our community. What Unbreakable Looks Like brought the topic home, literally. I embarrassingly never realized how close to home it could be. Thank you, Kate McLaughlin, for this important story.

At first I was thinking this coverage of the topic was too much for some of my high schoolers, but I was self-censoring. If it could happen to my students, they should be able to read about it. I'm also going to recommend it as a book club title sponsored by the group in my school who have taken on this terrible topic.

What Unbreakable Looks Like is an accessible read. I read it in one day, which shows how well-written and well-told this compelling story is. I made a note at one point in the book at which Alexa (not Poppy) sees a familiar, i.e., threatening, car and speculates who is behind the wheel. McLaughlin deftly uses Alexa's thoughts juxtaposed with the reality of the situation to allow the reader to experience what Alexa experiences. Not once did I feel I encountered a character who did not have a part to play in this story; the characters were real, three-dimensional people. The flow of the story, which flashed back and forth in time, didn't confuse the reader and might have even helped to break the tensions in the action to allow the reader to process the intensities.

I highly recommend this visceral novel to high schoolers who are drawn to social issues or to the YA genre of realistic fiction that includes death, drugs, and disease (which is actually a genre-subsection in my library!) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a book that goes deep into the after life of those were were sexually trafiiced. It shows how our young main character had to cope through what happened to her and how she must adjust to real life now that things are over. Or so they seem. This was a great read.

Excellent book about sex trafficking in the US and what trauma can do to a person. Beware of triggers: sex trafficking, rape, domestic violence, suicide, substance abuse.

This book shattered my heart into a million peaces then mended it back together with just a few scars to show. This story, although fiction, tells an all too true account of how young girls get pulled into sex trafficking. The main character, Lex, is so believable. You feel her anxiety, her pain, the moments where she shuts down, her grief, and her desire to just be normal. Her love interest is the guy you hope all teen guys (really adult men too) could be. The advocacy piece of the story is beautiful as well. I will definitely be recommending this to older teens and adult readers alike.

This book was incredible. There were some major trigger warnings for suicide, rape, sexual assault, self harm, physical assault, alcoholism and drug use. These triggers made it hard to read the book however it covered many important topics that are necessary for people to learn about. This book looked at intimacy and trust after trauma and was beautiful.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin.

When she was rescued from the hotel where she was sex trafficked, she was Poppy. Now she's Lex again and after months of drug use and perpetual abuse, she is expected to re-enter the world and experience normalcy again, but is that even possible? School peers are cruel, the boys even crueler, and the flashbacks are unbearable. Lex acts out and pushes away people that are trying to help her, how can she be expected to ever be normal again?

This was an important novel about the very real occurrence of sex trafficking that is happening right now. It outlined just how easily a young woman could be pulled into that world. It was horrific, but also offered hope. I'm grateful that we are exposing this problem more and more.

This was a very heavy story. It's raw and gritty, but also beautiful. It's empowering and hopeful. A girl, who has had every adult figure in her life let her down, is given a new chance to start over, with people who love her and want to help guide in her in journey. There are parts that will absolutely infuriate you. I was boiling with anger more than once. And fictional or not, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around Lex and never let her go. Because there are still so many Lex's out there in this world. Trapped inside this horrible life. This book is relevant and hard-hitting. It is a very impactful reading experience. I finished it days ago and am still left with emotions stirring. I am thankful that I got to read Lex's story and am even more thankful that authors are putting stories like this out there. If your looking for a thought-provoking novel that will leave its mark on you than I highly recommend this one!

I’m literally so in love with this book. It’s coming out a timely time and it covers the reality of human trafficking, the power that social media and the internet has within that evil system, and how a survivor lives after. This is a must read for high school girls!

Grab yourself a hot cocoa, recipe is in the book, and get settled. You are going to need a box of kleenex and a strong stomach to get through this detailed book on sex trafficking.
THIS IS A MUST READ BOOK FOR EVERYONE! Especially teenage girls, their parents, anyone who is around children should read this book...FULL STOP! READ THIS BOOK!
Alexa was groomed as a young adult to fall in "love" with an older man who needed a favor. This favor turned her into a drug addict and led to her being raped over and over again.
This book is so much more then just the sex trafficking and the addiction.
Its about struggle, self loathing, but most importantly REDEMPTION!
This is such a great book. It pulls you in and does NOT let go!

This book was an emotional roller coaster that everyone will want to ride! Trigger warnings for rape and sexual assault though. I wouldn’t recommend reading it if you’ve been through that. Otherwise this book was absolutely amazing and I couldn’t put it down. The characters were developed really well and the plot was definitely intense. As soon as I finished this book I went ahead and preordered a copy!

The book is expertly crafted, the characters are well described out and the demons that Lex faces are scary, as they should be and real. This should be required reading now that social media has made this situation more of a reality - it is well written so it does not sound like a lecture but it does ring true as a warning. Teenager's parents should read this as well and make sure that their kids feel safe. Modern age reminder of the famous book speak.

Buy this book.
Read this book.
Discuss this book.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher by invitation in exchange for an honest review. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email on vacation inviting me to access the ARC. I had limited WiFi so I downloaded the book with little attention to the subject of the book. As there should be with this book, there are trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. Based on the subject of human trafficking, this warning doesn't give anything away. While it is a tough topic, it was, in my opinion, well worth the read and some may feel empowered at the end of the book. But if you are a survivor of sexual abuse or assault, you may want to consider the warning.

The Alexa we meet at the beginning of the book is very different than the one we find at the end. Her healing process was written very realistically. Her support system of her aunt and uncle, best friend Elsa and friend Zack were the very best you could imagine. Zack starts out as a tutor, then a friend, then perhaps the best book boyfriend I've seen in a while. Lex's bravery and courage after being trafficked for nearly a year is admirable. Her story is powerful and the writing was excellent. I highly recommend this book if you can get past some of the flashbacks of her time at the motel. And definitely have tissues and possibly pizza nearby.

This book tackles a very difficult topic: human trafficking. The book felt very well-researched, and it goes into a lot of detail about how young women (and men) are groomed and eventually coerced into sexual slavery. What I liked about this book is that this process is shown through what happens to Lex, rather than the author simply explaining it. It can be difficult to understand why people fall into these traps, but when you see it happening in the story, it becomes abundantly clear how easy it is. Anyone is susceptible to this sort of coercion, and it is very insidious how these pimps lure youth into a life of prostitution.

Lex is a deeply scarred character, both physically and emotionally, and my heart broke for her so many times. The topic of human trafficking in the United States is not widely addressed in YA literature, although I think it should be. It is unfortunately more common than people realize, and could be very well happening in their own backyard, so to speak. Other things happen in this book that demonstrate the lack of education in regards to this topic, and the ignorance of people who choose to look at forced prostitution as a choice. This book is largely about Lex accepting her self-worth, healing, creating personal boundaries, reclaiming her sexuality, and recognizing what makes healthy relationships. At the start of the story, she is broken and recovering from addiction, but by the end, she is learning how to build herself back up and how to stand up to her abusers. It is a painful and beautiful story, and I hope to see more like it in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this beautiful book.

This book is heavy- there's no doubt about it. It touches on difficult topics such as human trafficking, suicide, sexual and physical assault, as well as harassment. It's very hard to read a book about these topics without glamorization or fetishization; however, each subject was treated with respect. While the author doesn't shy away from the events and consequences of human trafficking, I didn't feel like I was reading "torture porn".

It also threw a lot of questions back in the reader's face such as "how does someone survive this?" "how do they learn to overcome horrific trauma?" with answering questions "why shouldn't a woman/man be strong enough to survive?"

I would caution that this book may be triggering, but I definitely feel like it's a book that should be shared out to socialize important issues such as trafficking and sexual assault.

"The human body's a resilient thing. It heals with very little memory of what's been done to it...The mind that gets twisted and broken."

(a note here: I really want to put a comma after mind in that quote, so I do hope that gets fixed in editing)

Poppy was once known as Lex, and her childhood was less than ideal. So when she's wooed by Mitch, a friend of her mother's boyfriend, it's with stars in her eyes that she follows him and finds herself trafficked and addicted to drugs. The life is horrible and it all seems hopeless, so when she finds herself rescued, it is her aunt who is waiting there, only Lex doesn't know how she could go back to a "normal" life. She distrusts everyone, especially men, and she doesn't trust her aunt's husband at all. So it's going to take a lot of support and care to find who she can be now that she's out of that life.

I think Lex was one of the lucky ones because she had such an excellent support system. She had an understanding aunt and uncle, who would do anything to give her a future, and she had friends that understood her, to a degree and looked past what she thought of herself, to see the good in her. I think the bullying that she went through at school is sadly not unexpected. People mock what they don't understand and kids can be so cruel.

The story could use a little bit of editing in a few areas, but outside of that, this was a compelling read. It's relevant to our society today because trafficking is such a problem, and there are so many means in which people make it happen. The writing was easy to understand, the subject matter a tough one. Watching Lex finds her strength was uplifting, and the fact that she went on to help others was incredibly brave.