I Am A Taxi By Deborah Ellis

For twelve-year-old Diego and his family, home is the San Sebastian Women`s Prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His parents farmed coca, a traditional Bolivian medicinal plant, until they got caught in the middle of the government`s war on drugs. Diego`s adjusted to his new life. His parents are locked up, but he can come and go: to school, to the market to sell his mother`s hand-knitted goods, and to work as a "taxi," running errands for other prisoners. But then his little sister runs away, earning his mother a heavy fine. The debt and dawning realization of his hopeless situation make him vulnerable to his friend Mando`s plan to make big money, fast. Soon, Diego is deep in the jungle, working as a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation. As his situation becomes more and more dangerous, he knows he must take a terrible risk if he ever wants to see his family again.