Runaway Girl

Runaway Girl (2012) by Carissa Phelps with Larkin Warren. Phelps was literally a runaway girl growing up in California, where she fled a negligent mother and a scary stepfather to live on the streets at the age of 12. She soon fell into forced prostitution and drug use, and ended up "in the system." But she found that there were people who saw her potential and singled her out for a helping hand up, and eventually, against all the odds, she ended up earning a law degree and an MBA in California's excellent university system. Phelps doesn't pull many punches in this description of life on the outs, and it's a story of almost unimaginable sadness for a while. But she pulls it together, and ultimately, writes this book. It's not the most sophisticated literature, but it makes for a compelling read. Grade: B