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  • Published: 19 November 2018
  • ISBN: 9780735264779
  • Imprint: Penguin Canada
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $22.99

Fifteen Lanes



Eleven-year-old Noor, who lives in a Mumbai brothel with her mother and siblings, is grateful for the opportunity to go to school, hoping it will give her a chance to escape her fate of following in her mother's footsteps and being sold into the sex trade. Although she is resilient, capable and wise beyond her years, her life as the eldest daughter of a sex worker is full of struggle and challenge.
Living in the same city is Grace, the Canadian teenage daughter of a CEO of one of the largest international banks in India. A child of privilege, Grace faces her own torments when she is cyber-bullied.
Told in alternating voices, Fifteen Lanes exposes readers to a shocking and captivating world. When Noor and Grace eventually meet at an NGO support center for women and children, they make a connection that changes their lives.

A heartbreaking novel that explores the lives and relationship of two very different girls -- a resilient Indian girl and a troubled Canadian teen -- set in the fifteen lanes that comprise Mumbai's red light district.

Eleven-year-old Noor, who lives in a Mumbai brothel with her mother and siblings, is grateful for the opportunity to go to school, hoping it will give her a chance to escape her fate of following in her mother's footsteps and being sold into the sex trade. Although she is resilient, capable and wise beyond her years, her life as the eldest daughter of a sex worker is full of struggle and challenge.
Living in the same city is Grace, the Canadian teenage daughter of a CEO of one of the largest international banks in India. A child of privilege, Grace faces her own torments when she is cyber-bullied.
Told in alternating voices, Fifteen Lanes exposes readers to a shocking and captivating world. When Noor and Grace eventually meet at an NGO support center for women and children, they make a connection that changes their lives.

  • Published: 19 November 2018
  • ISBN: 9780735264779
  • Imprint: Penguin Canada
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $22.99

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Praise for Fifteen Lanes

PRAISE AND ACCOLADES FOR Fifteen Lanes:

Winner, White Pine Award (2017)

"Laidlaw brings Kamathipura, a poor neighborhood in Mumbai, to life with her detailed prose. The author handles the delicate subject matter with care, balancing the desperate living conditions with glimpses of Noor's joys and aspirations." --Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will love the complexity and authenticity of this story, even if they know very little about the lives of sex workers in India. The protagonists' voices make the story believable and unputdownable. . . . There is no easy happy ending for the girls, but their story shows the strength and beauty of the human spirit in a way that young adults will appreciate." --School Library Journal

"A poignant story of two girls who share a city but lead vastly different lives. . . . Fifteen Lanes showcases the strength of the human spirit in the most adverse of circumstances." --Quill & Quire

"Laidlaw doesn't flinch from the horrifying details of the desperate and dangerous lives of Mumbai's poorest women. Noor's strength and determination are inspiring. . . . This heartbreaking and hopeful novel will appeal to readers of gripping contemporary stories such as Patricia McCormick's Sold and E.R. Frank's Dime." --Starred Review, Booklist