Some Girls, My Life in a Harem

In the realm of books all that is good, I'm finding it difficult to peg this one.  I belong to Goodreads.com and as part of it you get to rate the book on a star system.  5 being the best 1 being the worst.  Most of the time this method works just fine but then there are those instances where a book just doesn't fit.  It's too complicated to be summed up with multiple stars.

So I'm going to do my own rating system for a more accurate picture.  It may change over time, but that's okay because it's my rating system.  But first, about the book.

Some Girls My Life in a Harem  is a true story of an 18-year old high school drop out who find herself in the "industry" and winds up spending 18 months of her life in a harem for the Prince of Brunei vying for his attention.  That's the simple plot.  The real story is much more complicated and hard to sum up.  Just like it's hard to sum up anyone's life in a simple statement.  Difficult to judge because I've never walked in her shoes.  This story is about Jillian Lauren finding herself and figuring who she really is and what she really wants out of this life. 

I can't say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  I can't say that I hated the book.  I can't say that I can safely recommend the book, but I can say that I am still thinking about the book.  I'm still trying to figure it out.  I'm trying to get over the sensationalism of the actual facts, places, deeds that are so completely foreign to anything that I grew up with or have ever been exposed to, and find the real story.  I almost want to read it again because know I now the facts of the story and I want to spend more time on the heart of the story.  In it's way, it's actually a beautiful story.

So, here's my rating system with a bit more depth than 5 stars allows me to give.

Story line:  Excellent.  A lost girl beats the odds, finds herself and stability.
Language: Lots of f-bombs, lots.  Don't judge me.
Difficult/adult content: lots of sex talk, not graphic, but slightly uncomfortable.  Only one that I would have skipped entirely.

Recommendation:  you be the judge.  Coming from an English Major background I learned to filter out some language as I read for survival.  I may not have approved of the language but I still had to write a paper on it.  I can honestly say I don't regret it though.  There are lots of ugly things around that distract from beauty.  Find the silver lining.  Figure out what's really being said.