McCormick, Patricia. Sold. New York City: Hyperion Books, 2006. 263 pages. (Realistic Fiction)Lakshmi lives in Nepal. Her family has no money, not even enough for a tin roof. When the monsoons wash all of her family’s crops away, Lakshmi is told she must go to the city to find work. She is brought into the hands of rough child labor, eating away at her childhood. She keeps a diary and keeps track of when she will have paid off her debt and will be able to leave, although there is information she is missing. Mumtaz, the harsh woman who oversees the child labor, has a perfected plan on how to keep the girls in debt to her forever. And although the children think they are earning money for their families, Mumtaz makes sure not a single cent will ever reach their homes. Will Lakshmi ever escape? When the time comes, will Lakshmi be willing to give up this new life for something she has almost forgotten?
This chilling book intertwines one girl’s childhood with the harsh child labor trade. Her journey, which starts out as a noble cause to help her poor family, is heartbreaking as it turns out to be a trap with no easy way out. The cultures shown in this book have such differences from the cultures we are used to and it almost feels like a different world. Lakshmi was created as a strong, willful girl, yet also naïve and trusting. This character is very easy to relate to, and it is strange to hear of her young journeys in such an unforgiving world. This is a superb book, and I highly recommend it!
Reviewed By: DancingPenguin96
