The Prison Runner (Побег из тюрьмы) Ellis Deborah

Deeply moving and wholly compelling, The Prisoner Runner is an eye opener on how easily a child can get used by the drug trade in Bolivia. Diego is a good boy, and smart too. While his parents are in prison, he makes money by running errands and doing homework for students who are less able then him. But sick of the drudgery and eager to help make his family’s life better, Diego joins a friend on a mystery mission which promises to pay them well. But the mission is drugs. Diego is forced into the horrifying labour of creating cocaine. Diego’s story is as gripping as it is horrifying and the background of the inexorable link between drugs and the exploitation of the poor in one of the world’s poorest countries is as fascinating as it is horrifying.

The Lovereading comment:

This is one of the most powerful and compelling novels you’ll ever read about the effect of cocaine production on the city children of Bolivia. It’s the story of ordinary kids caught up in extraordinary situations living a nightmare away in the jungle in the clutches of men who produce drugs for a living but who thought they were being employed to get rich in order to build a better life for their family back home in the city.

* книга канадской писательницы на английском языке.