Little Peach

Based on accounts from two young women lured into prostitution, Kern's (No Way Out) disturbing novel opens in a Brooklyn hospital where 14-year-old Michelle is being interviewed by a social worker while recovering from serious injuries. Subsequent chapters flash back to Michelle's childhood and the tumultuous months that brought her to the hospital. Running away from her drug-addicted mother and her lecherous boyfriend, Michelle travels to New York City with little money and vague plans to meet up with a friend who fled there herself. Lost, hungry, and exhausted, Michelle is approached by a stranger named Devon, who entices her to live with him and two other girls, one of whom is only 12. He promises to care for her and become family, but in return she has to prostitute herself. Drugged and motivated by an intense desire for stability and love, Michelle follows orders until the violence escalates. A grim and unsettling portrait of girls who become trapped by thinking they are out of options. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. (Mar.)