Only 13 [Paperback]

Julia Manzanares (Author), Derek Kent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2006

Only 13 is my life story. At 13, I ran away from an impoverished, rural Thai village, only to become involved in the sex-tourist industry meeting American and European men. Child prostitution was the only way that I could find to send money to my impoverished family. My entrance into this world was selling my virginity, for which I earned $1,200. I did this to make up for my father s death for which I was blamed, which occurred while he was searching for me. I also needed to pay for my sisters schooling so that they would never have to see sex-tourists as I did. I spent five years in the sex-tourist industry in Thailand before marrying to go to Switzerland. That trip lasted only 12 days. Upon returning to Thailand, I met up with a former customer who took me to Germany where I worked in a massage parlor, while at the age of 19, I looked only 15 years old, and received a premium from my customers. A bad relationship in Germany led me to Sweden where I worked as a stripper for two years before returning to Thailand and writing my story. I am now living in England. You will learn what it is like to be born a poor girl in rural Thailand. You will think my thoughts, feel my fears, understand my views, suffer my pain, and share my victory of leaving the industry. You will learn what it is like to be me.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A highly-recommended read. It is informative, damning and touching. At the end you feel like you really know Lon. --Stickmanbangkok.com, February, 2005

I was completely captivated... It gave me strength to prevent many more girls from following in Lon's unfortunate steps. --Claudio Romano, Fondazione Umanitaria Arcobaleno, September 15, 2005

She speaks with the powerful, determined voice of an activist making clear the injustice that she and other girls suffered. --David Reid, Geocities.com, October, 2005

From the Back Cover

I was alone and desperate, the Sex-Tourist havens beckoned me with open arms.

My culture holds all women to be not only inferior—but expendable.

From a child runaway, to a top earner in Thailand’s prolific sex industry, comes the story of a little girl in an impoverished land where girls aren’t valuable enough to educate, yet are expected to become the primary income earners--responsible for the basic needs and welfare of their families. By the time Lon was 18, she had been responsible for the sole support of her family for five years. After suffering a childhood filled with beatings, blamed for her fathers death, and denied further education at the age of 12, she ran away and soon sold the only item of value she possessed--her young and supple body. The more she earned by agreeing to the most perverted and degrading acts demanded by her foreign customers, the more money her mother demanded. An abortion at 15, followed by a suicide attempt, hundreds upon hundreds of clients, and the discovery and loss of her first love—all before she was 18—are only a part of her story. Her relentless determination to save her sisters from the same fate gave her the strength to endure, and to tell the unknowing world how the "Daughters of Isaan" must honor their family obligations, regardless of the cost to themselves.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 362 pages
• Publisher: Only 13 Publications; 1 edition (May 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977284107
• ISBN-13: 978-0977284108
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,388,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, February 14, 2007

By 

Joseph Onesta (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Only 13 (Paperback)

This book is probably the most straght forward piece I've read on the subject. Clearly the subject of the piece has a mission in telling her story to the authors and that is that her story should be known and in some way, it may help to make a difference for others like her. The writing is uncomplicated and the story is compelling. While some of the subject matter is difficult to read, it bears reading and provides a unique perspective on an international sex industry that routinely abuses children who get swept under the carpet like so many crumbs.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Highly suspect, October 1, 2011

By 

I eat books for fun! (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only 13 (Paperback)

I agree with Jeannie above - there were just so many excuses for why Lon chose the life she did. One thing she did make clear was that she could never have enough money - no matter what she had to do to get it. I don't even understand how she had so many people giving her money or offering to help her. Her high opinion of herself is incredibly annoying throughout the entire book. I agree with others that the writing style of the book is not very good either. It begins being written by someone else, goes into a book supposedly written by her (which I believe has been incredibly embellished by someone else, whom she likely lied to) and then ends with, I believe, a third person telling her story (also likely lied to). None of the three are very well written. Also unclear as to why it is being published under a number of different English titles. I give it two stars for being honest and insightful about the industry which is a huge problem in developing Asia.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Conflicting opinons on this book, May 2, 2011

By 

Jeannie Howard "BeachLover" (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Only 13 (Paperback)

This is a very hard review to write due to my conflicting feelings about this book.

I'm giving it 2 stars ONLY due to the horrible writing involved. The topic of this book is very interesting and deserves to be not only exposed but explored deeper, I only wish someone with writing talents had written it. Someone was obviously not paying attention to her style of writing, every other sentence (and most were fragments) had an exclamation point, that got old very quickly. She also repeated and repeated herself over and over saying the same thing. I fear that was to make this book much longer than it needed to be. On top of that, this has to be one of the most unlikable persons I've ever had the misfortune to read about. Between lies and cheating, she justifies all of her actions due to her culture. I was amazed at how she used people for her own benefit and then would laugh about it. That did not endear her to my heart!

Now that said, if I could I would give the TOPIC of this book 5 stars. I did enjoy reading all the statistics on the sex-tourist industry and the reasons why these girls become involved in it. Horrible living conditions, no hope for a future in a country where women are treated like the lowest of the low. I had no idea Thailand was this way! I for one will never venture over there as a tourist now that I know about the horrible human rights abuses perpetrated by not only the government of this country but by the people themselves upon each other! I fear this is one industry that will never be eliminated when so many benefit from it.