I’m so happy that this book exists. The subject, domestic human trafficking, is one that we need to talk about more openly, and this book does just that. It is a work of fiction, but undoubtedly well researched because the plot and the characters could just as well have been real. 

What Unbreakable Looks Like starts with a police raid on a motel where underage teenage girls are trafficked. Poppy/Alexa ends up in hospital and is offered an opportunity to get away from this life that she never chose in the first place. Her aunt Krys takes her in and together they work towards helping Lex find trust and stability again. 

Written through Alexa’s eyes, in a way that sometimes reads like a journal, What Unbreakable Looks Like is a dark tale that ultimately provides light and hope, without ever telling us that Alexa’s journey is the norm. It’s very clear all the way through that Alexa is one of the few who is able to make it through to the other side after being trafficked, and she definitely does not make it through unscathed. 

I’m still unpacking this book. Kate McLaughlin was able to incorporate so many feelings, so much trauma, but in a way that is naturally threaded through the narrative. We learn about the depths of Alexa’s trauma through flashbacks to her life in the motel in parallel with her progress in the present, and how this trauma triggers certain reactions and thoughts in her. 

Important topics that often fall under the umbrella of human trafficking, such as child sexual abuse, disassociation, forced drug abuse, grooming, distrust, abuse in all forms, and unworthiness for example, are all openly discussed. Trauma is not something predictable, and there is no quick fix or solution, or salvation. In order to heal one requires a strong support system, time, and the ability to understand how certain situations cause certain reactions. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse there were parts of Lex’s journey I related to strongly, and it was not always easy to read without feeling like I was being punched in the stomach. But the author did such a good job recreating the guilt, the anger, the disassociation, the difficulty trusting anyone… No, we aren’t broken.

Every year there are thousands and thousands of (reported cases of) domestic human trafficking in the US. Kudos to Kate McLaughlin for shining a light on this epidemic in her novel. If something doesn’t look right, don’t turn away. 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend everyone read this!