i read a YA book between 2011-2013 about a teenage girl that was from a poor european family. i think she used to work in a market with her grandmother? a lady approaches her while she is working, at a fruit/vegetable stall i think, and suggests that she go to the USA. she ends up going to america to babysit. the wages advertised were considerably higher than what they turned out to be. she wanted to save money and send some back to her family. she also wanted to learn english, i believe. she gets into america illegally and it takes her a while to do so - it's quite elaborate. the family she is staying with ends up controlling her so ends up being their babysitter/maid/servant - all 3 titles are applicable. the mother is absolutely hateful while the father is somewhat nicer, yet not much when he is letting this happen. the mother had two children, a girl and a boy - the girl was older than the boy. she carries on in their home for quite some time and i think one night she was either crying/washing the dishes when she sees a boy in the next house over - he was pacing his room. they either become friends or boyfriend and girlfriend. towards the end of the book the girl is out getting groceries when she runs down the street and its quite a nice part of the book - she might go to the beach i think. the main character, the girl, was very pretty and quite smart. i feel as if i can remember most of the book besides the details that would be the most helpful -- her name, the european country in which she lived, the title of the book etc. i'm almost certain, however, that the author is a female. i know i wrote quit a bit but i just wanted to provide enough detail because this will annoy me until i figure out the title. i also know those paragraphs aren't correct but that chunk of text looked worse than what it does now. thank you for reading this!!
A 17-year-old Moldovan girl whose parents have been killed is brought to the United States to work as a slave for a family in Los Angeles.Hannah believes she’s being brought from Moldova to Los Angeles to become a nanny for a Russian family. But her American dream quickly spirals into a nightmare. The Platonovs force Hannah to work sixteen-hour days, won’t let her leave th A 17-year-old Moldovan girl whose parents have been killed is brought to the United States to work as a slave for a family in Los Angeles.Hannah believes she’s being brought from Moldova to Los Angeles to become a nanny for a Russian family. But her American dream quickly spirals into a nightmare. The Platonovs force Hannah to work sixteen-hour days, won’t let her leave the house, and seem to have a lot of secrets—from Hannah and from each other.Stranded in a foreign land with false documents, no money, and nobody who can help her, Hannah must find a way to save herself from her new status as a modern-day slave or risk losing the one thing she has left: her life. ...more