Sold
Jul 2010 · Sold by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
4.6star
154 reviews
Ebook
272
Pages
family_home
Eligible
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About this ebook
The powerful, poignant, bestselling National Book Award Finalist gives voice to a young girl robbed of her childhood yet determined to find the strength to triumph
Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though she is desperately poor, her life is full of simple pleasures, like playing hopscotch with her best friend from school, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family's crops, Lakshmi's stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family.
He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at "Happiness House" full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution.
An old woman named Mumtaz rules the brothel with cruelty and cunning. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family's debt-then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave.
Lakshmi's life becomes a nightmare from which she cannot escape. Still, she lives by her mother's words-Simply to endure is to triumph-and gradually, she forms friendships with the other girls that enable her to survive in this terrifying new world. Then the day comes when she must make a decision-will she risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life?
Written in spare and evocative vignettes by the co-author of I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition), this powerful novel renders a world that is as unimaginable as it is real, and a girl who not only survives but triumphs.
Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though she is desperately poor, her life is full of simple pleasures, like playing hopscotch with her best friend from school, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family's crops, Lakshmi's stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family.
He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at "Happiness House" full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution.
An old woman named Mumtaz rules the brothel with cruelty and cunning. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family's debt-then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave.
Lakshmi's life becomes a nightmare from which she cannot escape. Still, she lives by her mother's words-Simply to endure is to triumph-and gradually, she forms friendships with the other girls that enable her to survive in this terrifying new world. Then the day comes when she must make a decision-will she risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life?
Written in spare and evocative vignettes by the co-author of I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition), this powerful novel renders a world that is as unimaginable as it is real, and a girl who not only survives but triumphs.
Ratings and reviews
4.6
154 reviews
Avery Northern
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October 1, 2023
Today I made the classic mistake of arguing with someone on the internet, however I can't feel bad about that, because it was over this book. My opponent was arguing for its removal from high school libraries due to explicit sexual content. I first read this book when I was 14, and before that I had little knowledge of the mechanics of sex slavery. I knew it happened, but not much about the way girls are lured in. This book was highly informative, particularly the bits on how parents sometimes sell their children unwittingly, thinking they're getting education or good jobs. The only way to prevent that is informing people through books like this. Calling a novel based on real testimonies of enslaved children "sexually explicit content that children don't need to be exposed to" is an insult to the children exposed to slavery by being sold into it. This book is vital.
Maren
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October 23, 2015
Patricia McCormick has written some of my favorite books, however the Google rating here is alarming. Just because it was written as a series of poems does not mean it is meant for kids. This book tackles some dark themes, and I would highly suggest you get that changed Google...
Anonymous ManPerson
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May 8, 2023
Definitely overboard material... impossible that this could be a "good read" Anyone reading this needs to seek Jesus...the author needs Jesus even more...anyone enjoying this dark crapshoot is a mental/spiritual mess... NOBODY should read this
About the author
To research Sold, Patricia McCormick traveled to India and Nepal where she interviewed the women of Calcutta's red-light district and girls who have been rescued from the sex trade. She is also the author of the acclaimed novels Cut and My Brother's Keeper.
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