Sold ~ Patricia McCormick

Publisher: Hyperion Paperbacks (2006)
ISBN: 978-07865172-0
263 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Issues
Age Level: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: A young village girl is sold into sexual slavery.

Summary: Lakshmi, 13, is sold by her step-father to a woman who runs a brothel. Innocent and naïve, Lakshmi believes she is going to be able to help her family afford a new roof for their hut in the Himalayan mountains. Instead, she is taken a world away from the mother she adores. From rural mountain poverty to city slums, Lakshmi does not dare to hope that she’ll find a way out, yet still she dreams of her mother and the love and laughter they once shared.

Notes: Told in vignettes, this story recalls The House on Mango Street. Lakshmi’s ordeal is horrifying, yet important to learn about. This book is a National Book Award Finalist.
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