Damaged by Kia DuPree
Release date: January 2010
Reviewed by A. Jarrell Hayes
Life isn’t perfect, and neither are the people we encounter in it. People’s backgrounds and motives are too complicated to judge a person without knowing them. Kia DuPree’s upcoming novel Damaged takes the reader into the life of Camille Logan, a.k.a. Nectar, a teenage prostitute working the streets of Washington, D.C.
Camille narrates her story from the 1st-person perspective. Starting from her joining the Brinkley family as a foster child, Camille begins a tale of sexual abuse by her foster father. Camille accepts the abuse in exchange for the gifts Mr. Brinkley buys her.
Throughout the novel, Camille allows herself to be used sexually in return for monetary benefits. She comes off as a gold digger – and that hurts her ability to be a sympathetic protagonist. She also doesn’t seem to have any direction in her life; no goals, no talents, nothing that makes her unique.
That’s excusable, because the novel takes place through Camille’s teenage years. She’s barely an adult by the end of the novel. Having no plans and being materialistic are quite reasonable traits for a teenage girl to have these days.
But that’s part of the novel’s charm: none of the characters are perfect, and everybody has some flaw that reflects the society we live in. Camille’s boyfriend, Chu, is depicted as a loveable and great guy – except he’s a drug dealer. And not just peddling weed, but hardcore drugs.
Unfortunately, the narration isn’t as realistic, and Camille makes references that seem inconsistent with her voice or experiences. The novel isn’t as graphic as perhaps other novels in the same genre (like Sapphire’s Push) – which isn’t necessarily bad. The details of the sexual abuse and day-to-day life and experiences of a hooker fit the novel well.
There’s little growth in Camille shown in the novel. It cuts off almost abruptly just when Camille decides she has a future that can be different from her past – however, she doesn’t seem to have a plan as to what that future entails. She does save money while working as a hooker by overcharging her clients and pocketing the difference, but at the end she finds escape through the forethought of another person.
Camille narrates her story from the 1st-person perspective. Starting from her joining the Brinkley family as a foster child, Camille begins a tale of sexual abuse by her foster father. Camille accepts the abuse in exchange for the gifts Mr. Brinkley buys her.
Throughout the novel, Camille allows herself to be used sexually in return for monetary benefits. She comes off as a gold digger – and that hurts her ability to be a sympathetic protagonist. She also doesn’t seem to have any direction in her life; no goals, no talents, nothing that makes her unique.
That’s excusable, because the novel takes place through Camille’s teenage years. She’s barely an adult by the end of the novel. Having no plans and being materialistic are quite reasonable traits for a teenage girl to have these days.
But that’s part of the novel’s charm: none of the characters are perfect, and everybody has some flaw that reflects the society we live in. Camille’s boyfriend, Chu, is depicted as a loveable and great guy – except he’s a drug dealer. And not just peddling weed, but hardcore drugs.
Unfortunately, the narration isn’t as realistic, and Camille makes references that seem inconsistent with her voice or experiences. The novel isn’t as graphic as perhaps other novels in the same genre (like Sapphire’s Push) – which isn’t necessarily bad. The details of the sexual abuse and day-to-day life and experiences of a hooker fit the novel well.
There’s little growth in Camille shown in the novel. It cuts off almost abruptly just when Camille decides she has a future that can be different from her past – however, she doesn’t seem to have a plan as to what that future entails. She does save money while working as a hooker by overcharging her clients and pocketing the difference, but at the end she finds escape through the forethought of another person.
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