Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I received a copy to review; the opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Sex and prostitution are topics not often addressed in Christian fiction. These hush-hush issues form the backbone of Stranger Things. However if you’ll remember my review of Afloat from last summer, Erin Healy doesn’t product the typical Christian fiction books.  For me, her books are eerie and unsettling.  I found myself confused by some of the descriptions in the book.  And all the while I was completely riveted.

Even though the book’s plot centers around the extremely dark topic of human trafficking, Stranger Things has a silver lining.  Hope and love are woven throughout its pages, defining even the most painful moments with the reminder that the good guys are out there.  I found myself rooting for the underdogs, the trio of boys who were fighting for freedom.  Like watching a horror movie, I cringed and shouted “NO!” when Serena Diaz did yet another stupid thing.  I cried for Brock, the confused and misguided boy who depended upon the wrong adults to make straight his path.  Healy does an excellent job of dropping little hints like bread crumbs.  My mind whirled around the terrible crimes that were happening in the book, yet I knew that some of those hints had not yet been resolved.

This story tempted me to restrict my daughter from dating anyone until she’s at least, oh, thirty years old.  And even then I might be tempted to have a private investigator trail him!  Stranger Things left my heart in pain over the very real sadness that anyone would “sell” a person.  As I read this book, I stopped to say prayers more than once to give that burden to God.  May He watch over those who endure pain and sorrow at the hands of another.  I wish the end of the book would have provided information about organizations that devote time and money to rescuing those who might not have the resources or ability to rescue themselves.