Sold by Patricia McCormick

Title: Sold
Author: Patricia McCormick
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: September 15, 2006
Date Read: January 1, 2011
Rating: 3/5 stars
Goodreads


Summary
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.


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.


Review
Rather enjoyed it. Handled the subject matter well; not too graphic, not too childlike. The ending felt a tad unrealistic to me. 


Recommended: If you like Ellen Hopkins, Deborah Ellis, or Carrie Mac; current affairs and controversial issues; multiculturalism and international novels.