What readers think of All Woman and Springtime, plus links to write your own review.

This well-paced debut novel following two girls lured into human trafficking will chill you to the bones. The effective use of the landscape makes it another character/narrator of the story, and thus understanding one place helps us to understand another, thus making it a universal story. We learn that survival depends not only adopting to your present situation but allowing your mind to believe there is hope, even if it is a unattainable hope. From the tight control of the North Korean political culture controlling every aspect of an individual’s life by a whim to the unforgiving world of sex workers as a commodity, every reader will be touched by this heart-breaking tale.

Through the pages of this book I was able to experience the hidden life of North Korea and the complexity of sex trafficking throughout the world. I found the story disturbing but the character development fascinating and I couldn't put it down.

A well-written book about a difficult topic, human sex trafficking. The characters are developed and sympathetic. The reader follows them from the highly controlled, paternalistic country of North Korea to the tightly run, male-run international brothels. It's a compelling story, though the ending seemed a bit abrupt and could have used some further explanation. It does celebrate the strength of the human spirit even in what appear to be hopeless situations.

All Women and Springtime is an intensely powerful story about the sex trafficking of young Korean girls and it is explicitly written; so much so that portions of the book were emotionally difficult to read and I found myself skipping over the sexually abusive parts. And yet, the story drew me in and haunted me to continue reading with ever so much hope that there might be a happy ending. This book is certainly not for young readers.

Would I run out to tell someone to read this book? No...but was the author able to maintain a level of tension and spur one on to finish this quick read...Yes! That said, the book was good but with limitations. The beginning dragged with similes that were trite and unnecessary. The cardboard characters were not fully fleshed allowing me to not fully engage and care. Additionally, the abrupt ending wrapped up too quickly to feel a sense of completion.

One aspect I did appreciate was the author's attention to the thoughts and feelings of these sexually trafficked girls leaving N Korea and the ensuing culture shock. In my experience, this disorientation has not been addressed in similar books.

For those not well versed in reading about sexual trafficking, the contents might be graphic but indeed honest, and will open their eyes to this hidden world.

This book brought me to the brink of tears many times. The green monster "Greed" reared it's ugly head and the innocent young girls were forced to live a life of hell on earth. The things that human beings do to one another is shocking. I will remember this book long after it's put back on the shelf.

Disappointed in this author's attempt to give the reader a glimpse into life in North Korea. The plot fails to convince the reader that two orphans in a tightly controlled police state would find themselves "tricked" into breaking all the rules and being sold as sex slaves. I wasn't convinced of the authenticity of the female characters. Overall the story felt contrived.