I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis

I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis is about Diego, a boy who lives in a prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His parents were both arrested on false charges of drug trafficking and were imprisoned there. Diego is free, but must live with his mother in the women's prison because he has no where else to go. Diego helps his mother pay rent on their cramped cell by running errands for the prisoners. They pay him to leave the prison and go to the market or deliver things for them! One day Diego and his friend Mando are offered a job and promised lots of money by some shading looking men. They decide to go with them, and end up deep in the jungle working for drug smugglers without a hope of any payment or escape.

This book gave me a different take on drugs and smugglers. I felt so badly for Diego and Mando! They were trying to make things better for themselves and their families and ended up in a hopeless situation. The smugglers treated the boys as though they were expendable - to them, they were. They could easily find more boys in the city who could be tricked into hard labor for free.