Book Review: The Education of a Very Young Madam

When you see a book like this laying on your boyfriend's bedside table you kinda have to look at it. When he tells you that he's read it and hands it to you, you're pretty much obligated to give it a shot. I did. It was interesting.

The book is the true story of a girl who, at the age of 13, went to live on the streets in order to escape a bad situation in a state facility. The girl was adopted from Korea by upper middle class parents in New England, in an effort to save their marriage. (Like that EVER works?)

Written in first person, the book recounts her life as a teenager, and a madam. Interestingly enough, she never gets involved as a prostitute herself and lives by a moral code that frowns on people who cheat in relationships. While it won't make any of my Top 10 lists, it was an interesting look into the world of prostitution. There are no punches pulled to soften the story but she also doesn't go out of her way to titillate the reader. Nor is this a tale of redemption. It isn't even a cautionary tale. It's just a story.