Buying Samir

Description: Buying Samir is the second book in the India’s Street Kids series by Kimberly Rae. Jasmina, who was rescued by missionaries in Capturing Jasmina, leaves safety to search for her brother Samir. She finds him but discovers he is now working with the men who once enslaved them. In telling Jasmina and Samir’s story, Rae takes the reader into the world of international child slavery. When Jasmina tries to free a group of girls Samir helped recruit, she puts all their lives in peril. 

Rating: 3.93 out of 5 

Buying Samir is the second book in the India Street Kids series by Kimberly Rae. Previously Jasmina and her brother, Samir, had been sold to traffickers who treated the children as slaves. Jasmina, however, managed to escape and found safety amongst a group of American missionaries. Now aged 14, Jasmina is determined to locate and save her brother.

Initially with the help of one of the missionaries, Jasmina begins searching for Samir at various locations hoping she can free him from whatever slavery he has been forced into. However desperation encourages Jasmina to secretly go alone on this dangerous mission. Although she finds her brother there is no happy reunion. Samir has become one of the traffickers and Jasmina finds herself in a lot of trouble.

Jasmina learns a lot more about the world she lives in, who to trust and who to avoid. She also learns of Christian forgiveness – a concept that was alien to her as she was used to being punished.

Rae shocks the reader with her descriptions of horrors children in India face on the streets. Many are tricked into dreadful situations by false promises of luxury. What is the most disturbing is that this story is not about the past, these things are happening now! Thankfully there are people such as the missionaries who, with Gods help, give up their time to rescue these children and give them a better life or restore them to their families.

Buying Samir is a very short book and suitable for both adults and teens. Readers would benefit from reading the previous book first however Jasmina’s narrative reflects on the past providing enough information to understand what is going on.