Sold - Softcover

McCormick, Patricia

4.23

58,818 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1484722973 ISBN 13: 9781484722978

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion, 2015

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

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, this powerful novel renders a world that is as unimaginable as it is real, and a girl who not only survives but triumphs.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

PRAISE FOR SOLD
* "Hard-hitting poignant. The author beautifully balances the harshness of brothel life with the poignant relationships among its residents. This important book was written in their honor." "Publishers Weekly (starred review)""

PRAISE FOR SOLD
"Searing poetic." "Horn Book""

PRAISE FOR SOLD
* "An unforgettable account of sexual slavery as it exists now." "Booklist (starred review)""

PRAISE FOR SOLD
"McCormick's talents lie in rendering stark facts vividly but not melodramatically." "Time""

PRAISE FOR SOLD
* "Readers can't help but be moved by Lakshmi's fate." "The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)""

Book Description:

A powerful novel written in vignettes about a a Nepalese girl who risks everything for a chance to reclaim her life.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.