Renting Lacy: A Story Of America's Prostituted Children (A Call to Action) [Paperback]

Linda Smith (Author), Cindy Coloma (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

The average age of entry into prostitution in America is 13 years old. Forced into a life they never chose, manipulated, abused and tortured at the hands of the pimps who control them, our countrys children are sold on the streets, on the internet and at truck stops across America every night. They arent bad kids who made bad choices. They are victims of child sex trafficking. They come from our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches, and sometimes our own homes. Author Linda Smith brings to life characters based on real stories and interviews with teen survivors. Meet Lacy and Star as they reveal the underbelly of our country s commercial sex trade. Get to know the men who sell them, and the ones who buy them. Let Renting Lacy draw you into the lives of these young girls as they struggle to survive each night, watching their childhood hopes and dreams slip away in the darkness. Let it compel you to action.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Renting Lacy has served as a catalyst to many thoughtful conversations. It has proven to be an indispensable resource teens can relate to. Kids know what we don t, they see what we can t, and Renting Lacy gives them the ability to recognize the language, understand the vulnerabilities, and help protect themselves and others. --Leslee Ferguson, Mgr, Crisis Residential Center, Washington

I am a survivor of human trafficking, prostitution, alcohol, drug addiction, rape, incest, and homelessness, and I thought the book was very honest and real. I really appreciate the truth being told, and the heart of the girls being revealed. People need to see the nightmares and devastation they endure, and that there are a lot of evil people out there who are very good at what they do. But, I know my God is greater, because of all the healing, restoration, and blessings he has given me. Thank God for Shared Hope, Linda Smith, and many loving, compassionate, empathetic hearts to reach beyond themselves to strangers, and let them know they are somebody, and their lives are worth saving. --Jeanette Bradley, Social Services, Ohio

The stories in the book really made it come alive. The message was shocking, disturbing, horrifying. But it is also necessary. We in America need to know what is happening to our children right under our noses. We need to wake up to the fact that this horrific abuse is occurring and that we are allowing and even at times encouraging it. What will it take to change this? I challenge anyone to read Renting Lacy and not be motivated to do something to implement change in the abuse of children in America. --Student, Indiana

About the Author

Linda Smith is a leader in the global movement to end sex trafficking of women and children around the world. In 1998, while still a member of the U.S. Congress, Linda traveled to Falkland Road in Mumbai, India a notorious brothel district. The hopeless faces of women and children forced into prostitution compelled Linda to found Shared Hope International (SHI). SHI supports care, shelter, education, and vocational training at Homes and Villages of Hope. SHI provides leadership in education and training, prevention strategies, research, and policy initiatives. Linda is the primary author of From Congress to the Brothel and Renting Lacy and co-author of The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Americas Prostituted Children and the DEMAND. Report. As a foremost expert on the issue, Linda has testified before Congress, presented at national and international forums, participated in more than 300 media interviews, and has been published in news outlets and journals around the world. Linda served as a Washington State legislator (1983-93), before she was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1994. Her compassionate and uncompromising belief that every individual has dignity has carried her from advocating for permanent safe homes for children in the State Senate, to the halls of Congress, and ultimately to searching out victims in red light districts around the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Shared Hope International; 1st edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976559463
• ISBN-13: 978-0976559467
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cindy Martinusen Coloma is a best-selling author and has written 12 novels including Beautiful (2010 Christy Award Finalist and 2011 Revolve Book of the Year), The Salt Garden (Library Journal's Best Books 2004) Orchid House (2008 ECPA bestseller) and Winter Passing (2001 Christy Award Finalist), as well as several non-fiction books and over 100 published articles.


Cindy lives in Redding, California with her husband and four children.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars ESSENTIAL READING FOR PARENTS January 28, 2010

By Troy

Format:Paperback

This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST-READ for any parent who has a daughter younger than 21. Well written, this book is an eye opener. You can not afford to NOT read this book. The predators that are recruiting and preying on girls even in the middle schools, are numerous, EXTREMELY dangerous, and constantly on the hunt for younger and younger 'victims'. This book informs parents on the indicators that their daughter may have been targeted. As a member of the law enforcement community, I can attest that the facts laid out in this book are no longer unique, or uncommon. Please take time to read this.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story; Painful to Read January 15, 2011

By Jeremy Myers

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Renting Lacy is the story about a young girl who is caught up in the child-sex slave industry of Las Vegas. Though a "fictional" account, the book itself is not fiction. There are millions of children right here in the United States who are sold for sex each and every day. This book tells their story.

The book is very readable, but not easy to read. In other words, once you start reading, the book is hard to put down, but the horror you begin to feel at what is happening to these young girls makes the book difficult to read. Multiple times the book caused me to break out in tears.

The strength of the book is not only in the story that is told, but in the facts, statistics, and reports that the author includes at the end of each chapter. Linda Smith goes into great detail about how many children are enslaved, where they come from, how they are enslaved, what is being done to stop child sex slavery, and what organizations are out there that you and I can get involved with.

As a result, this is easily one of the best and worst books I have read in a long time. I highly recommend it, not so that you read it and put it on your shelf, but so that you read it and then get involved in helping rescue girls from forced prostitution in America.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO CARES ABOUT CHILDREN! June 14, 2010

By S. Wilkey

Format:Paperback

"Renting Lacy" is an eye-opening and uncomfortable, yet critical, book for anyone with children to read. As a mother of a 5-year-old daughter,this book opened my eyes to the horror that girls as young as 11 are trafficked for sex in every city and town in the United States. This book tells the true stories of REAL American girls trafficked for sex. Read it and I'm sure you'll hug your little one even more.

Also, you can receive "Renting Lacy" through the Shared Hope International website, [...], for any donation amount and your donation will go to rescue and restore prostituted girls - like Lacy!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Shared Hope International October 24, 2011

By Sheila

Format:Paperback

[...]

Why not send your funds directly to Shared Hope to help support the work they're doing in fighting the sexual trafficking of young victims and get a copy of this book from them, too?

[...]

(Check out the site)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Must-Read August 29, 2010

By D. Park

Format:Paperback

Never before have I heard and felt the atrocities done to prostituted children as poignantly as this book. Horrifying, page-turning, honest, and informative, I am more educated and appalled at the topic. I feel, with this book, I and all other readers are equipped to move forward to stopping this horrible tide moving in our nation.

A must read for those who care to save America's prostituted children

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Some say "must read" for young girls but... December 18, 2012

By Mary

Format:Paperback

We all know men addicted to porn. Many don't admit they watch porn but the data shows that we are shoulder to shoulder with men every day that think that what they are watching is harmless, and they just use it in private with no harm done. This book is a MUST READ for all men. They need to know what they are actually looking at. They need to see what they are supporting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, compelling June 1, 2010

By Bonnie Bailey

Format:Paperback

Renting Lacy is real, powerful, visceral and heart-wrenching. It's easy to read in that it's written plainly, but hard to read in that we humans don't want to know about the evils of this world. We think, whether consciously or unconsciously, that not knowing lets us off the hook and we don't have to do anything about it. But in truth we are all complicit in these evils when we do nothing to stop them. When we refuse to do what's in our power to help, little girls (and boys) suffer immeasurably. No, we may not have thrown them in the river, but we are guilty when, seeing them there drowning, we don't extend a hand to pull them out, give them warm clothes and teach them about what love really is.

All I can say is, if you're "for real" about your desire to help people, you'll want to read this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Renting Lacy January 7, 2013

By Laura Richmond

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book came quickly and was in good condition. People need to read this book to become aware of how bad this is even in the USA.