Helpful Score: 4
Lakshmi the 13 year old narrator is fictional, but she is heartbreakingly the composite of thousands of Nepali girls sold by their families and trafficked into the brothels of India. Sold is told in short chapters--most not even a page long, some reading like verse--which eloquently captures the voice of a girl not used to having much free time, having her voice heard, or too sad to say much at once. Nonetheless, an voice of innocence dimmed but a spirit not extinguished shines through. We first meet Lakshmi living with her family on the slopes of the Himalayas, eking out a precarious existence but full of simple pleasures and maternal love. However, a monsoon and her disabled stepfather's gambling habit conspire to send Lakshmi away to the city for a "maid's" job with a stranger for 800 rupees. Taking in the new sights and sounds with wonder en route to India, Lakshmi is brutally introduced to her real position as an underage prostitute by the calculating brothel owner Mumtaz, to whom the debts of sexual indentured servitude will never be worked off. Nonetheless, she retains her love of learning and make friends--including fellow sex workers with similarly heartbreaking stories--who might enable her to escape this hopeless existence. Given the subject matter, it's a bit surprising Sold is a young adult book, but the violence and sex at the brothel are not graphically portrayed. The story ends abruptly, but one can only hope that means Lakshmi and the girls on whom she is based are no longer living as commodities sold and used. It's a story very deserving of being a finalist for the National Book Award in 2007.
Helpful Score: 2
I read SOLD in one sitting. The story of Lakshmi, a young girl sold in to sex slavery, is heartbreaking. What is even more gut-wrenching is knowing that her story is similar to many others around the world. I highly recommend this book.
Helpful Score: 2
This book is extremely well written BUT ... I would not allow my young teens to read it. And I wouldn't let my older teens read it alone. It is something that needs to be read together & discussed. This is not a topic that most teens are equipped to handle on their own especially as you near the end of the book. I would recommend it to any adult that cares about horrors these Nepali girls face. I wish the author would have included a list of the ministries battling this problem
Helpful Score: 1
So Powerful. Concise, clear writing. I read this one straight through in a couple of hours. It is one of those that once you pick it up, you can't stop. I really felt for 13 year old Lakshmi, who comes form the dirt-poor mountains of Nepal, and due to her family's dwindling circumstances gets sold to a slave trader for money. Tragically, she ends up in a brothel in Calcutta. Her strength of spirit is admirable as she struggles to find her way in a nearly unbearable, new life and looks for any small hope of a way out.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book and I loved the style it was written in. The authors use of often times only a few paragraphs per page made it read like a diary.I could feel Lakshmis pain, her misery, her despair as I turned each page. It was simple, straight-forward and very hard hitting! The plight of these girls will break your heart. I have read many other books on this subject and even though this isn't a "per-se" memoir, it is based on the authors extensive study of girls forced into the sex trade and is one of the best I have ever read. Very nicely done! Excellent read and highly recommended for anyone intersted in this subject.
Helpful Score: 1
I couldn't stop reading this book, it forced me to read it in one sitting. I was so worried for the character. My husband asked me if I ever read "happy books." I just told him that I was hoping for a happy ending. This book reminded me that there are horrible things happening in the world that most people don't know about and don't care to know about. If you like this book I would also recommend watching the documentary Born into Brothels. The documentary is not nearly as vivid as this book.
Fast read. It was very interesting and sad without going into too much detail.
An eye opening book about the world outside our borders. Loved the format of this book made it easy to read a hard subject with smaller chapters. The was assigned to my son who is in 10th grade so I read it with him, which was good because some explaining was needed since the idea of a 13 year old being sold into prostitution is unthinkable to those who's world revolves around what video game to play next.
Great book on such a sad subject. Written in free verse it is a quick read. I plan to have my 15yo read it, I think it will be eye opening to her about how some girls are treated these days in other parts of the world.
I really liked the build up of understanding the culture and then seeing what would go on within a brothel and the interaction made with others as well through slavery. The way everything is poetically transcribed really paints more of a picture of the life of one who becomes a slave. It was an excellent book!!! It is however triple spaced and very easy to read in a day (which is what I did). I am guessing this was a fictional piece created basing the lives of the slave girls the author interviewed. She really had to do her research well to write such a great book. I was able to learn a lot from it. I truly hope that people come across it and are able to learn about human trafficking/modern day slavery. This is a great way to spread awareness. I could hardly put the book down!
In spite of its tough subject matter, a very good (and rather quick read) for anyone who wants to confront the harsh realities of the subject.
I read this book in one sitting as well. It is a quick read and I like the way it is written in a sort-of journal/diary style. It broke my heart but it is a good story to read.
I completely understand the perspective on the book I finished reading. It's important to acknowledge and learn about how other cultures treat females and poverty. It's unfortunate that these issues still exist in many parts of the world. It's important to shed light on these issues so that we can work towards creating a more equitable and just society for all.
An amazing story of a young girl's life and the traumas she is forced to go through to survive. I couldn't put it down and finished the book wanting to go help woman who have had to experience this in their life. Very enlightening.
Well written at youth level, but topic is a tough one for kids to read.
simple but very powerful, would recommend to everyone. wish i knew how to help
Although this is a fictional story, it is based on interviews and research on this particular subject. The author actually went to these countries and talked with girls and family that faced these terrible accounts.
The book is about a 13 year old girl, Lakshmi, that is sold by her stepfather into sexual slavery. Her mother thought she was going to work as a maid in the city. Either way, there was not much she could have done since women have little say in what happens. Lakshmi is taken to Calcutta where horrific things were done to her and other girls. I got very emotional reading this book and had to put it down a couple of times but then would pick it up to see what would happen next. This is a very heart wrenching story. Even more so since these things really do happen. It makes you see what monsters some people can really be.
It is an easy read when it comes to the book itself but a bit harder when it comes to the actual story. It can definitely be emotionally trying. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to become more aware of the atrocities that are out there in this world.
The book is about a 13 year old girl, Lakshmi, that is sold by her stepfather into sexual slavery. Her mother thought she was going to work as a maid in the city. Either way, there was not much she could have done since women have little say in what happens. Lakshmi is taken to Calcutta where horrific things were done to her and other girls. I got very emotional reading this book and had to put it down a couple of times but then would pick it up to see what would happen next. This is a very heart wrenching story. Even more so since these things really do happen. It makes you see what monsters some people can really be.
It is an easy read when it comes to the book itself but a bit harder when it comes to the actual story. It can definitely be emotionally trying. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to become more aware of the atrocities that are out there in this world.
This story is for a mature reader. A story of a mountian girl and the lies she was told to get her into the sex trade.
a must read for anyone concerned about this issue, researched very well, loved this book, could not put it down, written like a journal from the young girl's point of view, brought tears to my eyes
I love diary type reads. This one was great. Very sad, suspensful. Kept me on the edge of my seat hoping and praying for this little girl. I was satisfied. Highly recommend.
The rhythmic prose of this book moves the reader right a long as Lakshmi relates her story of leaving the mountains of Nepal to being sold into slavery, as a prostitute.
I couldn't put this book down until I read the very last page. Very good.
I couldn't put this book down until I read the very last page. Very good.
Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
SOLD tells the story of Lakshmi, who lives in a tiny mountain village in Nepal. She lives in a hut with her stepfather, mother, and baby brother. Poverty is all Lakshmi knows. She speaks of swallowing her spit and pretending it is soup, tightening her waistcloth to fool her belly into thinking it's full, and thickening her stew with dirt. Lakshmi dreams of going to the city like some girls and working for a rich family to send money back to her own relatives on the mountain.
One day her stepfather returns home with a woman he says Lakshmi should call Auntie. He has made a deal for Auntie to take Lakshmi down the mountain to work. It seems her dream has come true, and her journey begins.
Traveling down the Nepalese mountain and across the border into India is at once both exciting and frightening. Lakshmi, whose mountain life has been nothing but poverty and hard work, marvels at the sights and sounds of city life. Trains, buses, cars, and trucks amaze her. There are crowds of people and shops as far as the eye can see.
Lakshmi arrives at her destination. She is told she will be working for a woman she is to call Auntie Mumtaz. Prepared to work hard and earn her keep, Lakshmi is shocked to discover what her real duties will be. She is thrust into the arms of an old man with onion breath. He kisses her and begins to demand the unthinkable. Terrified, Lakshmi runs. Auntie Mumtaz orders her capture and locks her in a room. After days of starvation, beatings, and cruel treatment, Lakshmi realizes she will need to cooperate to survive.
Patricia McCormick uses a blunt and direct narrative style to present Lakshmi's horrific experiences. The story is heartbreaking, yet uplifting, as Lakshmi shows courage and determination to maintain her identity and survive her ordeal. Readers will hold Lakshmi in their thoughts long after finishing her story.
SOLD tells the story of Lakshmi, who lives in a tiny mountain village in Nepal. She lives in a hut with her stepfather, mother, and baby brother. Poverty is all Lakshmi knows. She speaks of swallowing her spit and pretending it is soup, tightening her waistcloth to fool her belly into thinking it's full, and thickening her stew with dirt. Lakshmi dreams of going to the city like some girls and working for a rich family to send money back to her own relatives on the mountain.
One day her stepfather returns home with a woman he says Lakshmi should call Auntie. He has made a deal for Auntie to take Lakshmi down the mountain to work. It seems her dream has come true, and her journey begins.
Traveling down the Nepalese mountain and across the border into India is at once both exciting and frightening. Lakshmi, whose mountain life has been nothing but poverty and hard work, marvels at the sights and sounds of city life. Trains, buses, cars, and trucks amaze her. There are crowds of people and shops as far as the eye can see.
Lakshmi arrives at her destination. She is told she will be working for a woman she is to call Auntie Mumtaz. Prepared to work hard and earn her keep, Lakshmi is shocked to discover what her real duties will be. She is thrust into the arms of an old man with onion breath. He kisses her and begins to demand the unthinkable. Terrified, Lakshmi runs. Auntie Mumtaz orders her capture and locks her in a room. After days of starvation, beatings, and cruel treatment, Lakshmi realizes she will need to cooperate to survive.
Patricia McCormick uses a blunt and direct narrative style to present Lakshmi's horrific experiences. The story is heartbreaking, yet uplifting, as Lakshmi shows courage and determination to maintain her identity and survive her ordeal. Readers will hold Lakshmi in their thoughts long after finishing her story.
Was a quick and easy read. Very scary to think that people have to make choices like this.
