By Cher Gatto

After the masterful (and heartwrenching) Something I Am Not, I knew the sequel would be a hard read, but it was worth it.

On the outside, Billy’s story looks like a miraculous happily ever after. Despite his hellish childhood, he is now reunited with his birth family, is newly married, and works as an investigator to save other young people from the sex trafficking industry.

But the demons from his past are still whispering in his ear. When the woman who raised and abused him shows up at the local shelter, Billy is furious that she is being given a second chance at life. He wants nothing to do with her. But she holds answers to the truth about the nightmare that was 16 years of his life. And when Billy finds himself in over his head, spiraling back into the life he left, she might be the only one he can trust.

Pros: Just like Something I Am Not, when you get to the end of the book, you realize you have been reading two stories at once. Cher Gatto delivers an incredible parable about God’s love and dying to self, while also bringing awareness to the tragedy of sex trafficking and abuse. This book is gritty and gripping, and once you get going, impossible to put down.

Cons: While the subject manner is highly disturbing, it is handled with discretion. That said, this is not a book for immature readers. The sex trafficking/organized crime industry is real, and as painful as it was to read about it in a work of fiction, the knowledge that there are people living in that hell is even worse.

Bottom Line: A heart-wrenching parable set in the convoluted world of modern human trafficking.

#6 on my Top 10 Books of 2025 list!

Note: You will have to read book 1 (Something I Am Not) first in order for this one to make sense. Together, they make up the most impactful duology I have ever read.