This book was incredibly hard to read - it dealt with the reality of child slavery and gang masters. Three children escape from slavery but are separated - Miran is arrested and Esra escapes with a small child to care for. They meet a local boy with his own issues who helps them. They create a mud man who comes to life and who enables them to face their fears, their pasts and gives them a way forward. Again hope arises from an apparently hopeless situation.

I spoke to my book group about how this book makes you think about a hidden story - one which we know goes on but which we do not think about as so many other news stories compete for our attention. The author personalises a statistic and makes it memorable.

One I will be recommending.

Fraillon's book about human trafficking has been touted as the Skellig for a new generation...
This is not an easy read - the story behind what the kids tell us is truly upsetting - but it is vital.

The Ones that Disappeared is a short but powerful read about the hopes and dreams of three children who are enslaved. Their journey really begins when they escape and try to make their way home.

Fraillon's use of language is superb and the text does read more like poetry than prose at times. I felt the pace of the book dropped a little in the middle and did not enjoy the fantasy element of the riverman but I can see how this would appeal to others.

A thought-prolong YA read that will open up conversations about slavery and free will within the modern world.