A Personal, Tormenting Story

"The Girl Who Escaped ISIS" is a quick though very tumultuous read. Farida Khalaf's story, ably helped by Andrea Hoffmann and translated by Jamie Bulloch, is a story of being saved from the pits of humanity. The story, however, is not without permanent scars.

Khalaf had yet to graduate high school at the time of writing this book. Early in her high school career, militant extremists with the help of neighboring villages overran her idyllic community, executing most of the men and abducting the women and children. Khalaf and her peers were sent to various cities to be bought and sold as slaves for sexual exploitation. Khalaf generally describes the men involved in her abductions, although she focuses on the feelings she and her peers have. Perhaps because of her strong feelings of shame, Khalaf and her peers seem to go through various emotional stages. They even begin bargaining after realizing the terrors they are subjected to, with Khalaf trying to get herself sold to a soldier who seems only slightly better than the other militants.

While she goes through various emotional stages, Khalaf and her peers never give up the desire to escape and return to their homes. With the exception of two girls who want to stay with the militants for fear their families will be put in further danger, Khalaf and her peers continue looking for chances to flee from their captors. After several frustrations, Khalaf escapes, as the title tells.

The thoughts and psychological insights, told in first person, can be applied to many areas of conflict around the world, making this book a valuable addition to the literature of current and past wars and their impact on innocent people. This book requires readers to empathize with the plight of civilians caught in the noose of struggles of which they want no part.

"The Girl Who Escaped ISIS" tells readers a very personal story. Readers are given a sense of the terror, fear, and destruction that ISIS has exacted on local populations, upending entire communities with genocidal fury. At a little over 200 pages, Khalaf's book reads quickly. While the ending appears happy at first glance, the story is anything but. Under any circumstances, Khalaf has done well for herself, but the toll ISIS has taken will never be known. ( )

I would like to thank Square Peg for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

"This is the story of what happened to Farida after she was captured: the beatings, the rapes, the markets where ISIS sold women like cattle, and Farida's realisation that the more resistant she became, the harder it was for her captors to continue their atrocities against her. So she struggled, she bit, she kicked, she accused her captors of going against their religion, until, one day, the door to her room was left unlocked. She took her chance and, with five younger girls in her charge, fled into the Syrian desert..."

I honestly don't know what to say about this book, or even where to start with reviewing it. It feels wrong to try and break it down and comment on writing style, star rating, etc.

This book really brings home how easily your life can change. One day you're enjoying the long hot summer days and the next you and your family are fleeing for your lives. Farada could be your daughter, your sister, your niece, she deserves to be safe, to live without fear just like everyone else. The suffering she endured was atrocious, yet she never gave up. Her story is a remarkable story of hope, faith, courage, and strength. It's not an easy read, but it is important that experiences like Farada's are told. It is important that the world is made aware of the atrocities that are occurring in order to better understand the horrors that refugees are running from.

The Girl Who Beat ISIS is a book that everyone should read. ( )

Horrifying yet hopeful story of a young woman who was held as a sex slave by members of ISIS in Iraq. Farida is a member of the Yazidis, a religious sect whose members are considered devil worshipers by other Islamics. This is the true story of a young woman who was sold into slavery to ISIS soldiers and held in a camp with other young women. Farida's strength and determination not to give in allowed her to plan an escape for her and five others.

This is a very timely story which would give teens a glimpse into the group which daily makes headlines. ( )