Sold by Patricia McCormick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“This affliction–hope–is so cruel and stubborn, I believe it will kill me.” -Patricia McCormick, Sold
This is a book you wish was just a work of fiction, but sadly there are young girls living this horrifying reality.
Sold is about Lakshmi, a thirteen year old Nepali girl who wants to help her struggling family buy a tin roof for their mountain hut and other necessities. She believes she is being taken to the city to work as a housekeeper so she can send her earnings home to help the family survive. However, the terrifying reality is that her drunkard, lazy-ass stepfather sold her to a brothel in India!! Aaarrghh!!! Just typing it angers me.
This book is told in Lakshmi’s first person narrative (in free verse) and as the story unfolds, bit-by heartbreaking-bit, her purity and innocence are shattered. I listened to this book on audio and many parts were extremely difficult to listen to. Although it’s sad, the story is full of hope and reinforces that “simply to endure is to triumph.” 
