Sold

By: Patricia McCormick

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Audie Award Finalist, Package Design, 2014

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.

©2006 Patricia McCormick (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Hard-hitting...poignant. The author beautifully balances the harshness of brothel life with the poignant relationships among its residents." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

Haunting. This story will stay with you.

I do not want to destroy the effect of this story on you by giving too much information, but want you to know that it is not a lighthearted tale. The description tells you it will not be fun, but realize that it is real, and the effects are strong. As a mother, it was hard sometimes to listen, but I am glad I did. I am not any kind of activist, nor do I give much thought to human rights around the world, but this gives me pause to consider it more - without telling me I was a bad person for not considering it before now.
Highly suggest this for those strong enough to face harsh truths about this world.

Sad that this is happening

An innocent Nepali girl, 13, lives with her family in a village far enough away from cities that she has never been to a city. She wants to go to "the city" to work as a housemaid, so when her stepfather sends her off with a woman, she believes she is going off to do housework. She's horrified to learn that she has been sold by her stepfather and is now part of the sex trade in India. It's a very sad tale, and although fictionalized it seems likely that this happens to many impoverished young girls.

Tragic but full of hope. We must do more.

This type of story is always a bit of a tough one for me. These stories are so horrific yet true and current even today. I believe we NEED to hear these stories. So many children, so many PEOPLE are being held against their will and truly have no idea that it is possible to escape. That said, the narration was excellent as was the story telling itself. If you'd like to help young women like the girls in the story, there is a group called "LOVE146" that is doing amazing work with these girls (and boys) around the world.

Listen to Sold

Such a heartbreaking story 💔
I highly suggest this book! It is short and very captivating.

GREAT BOOK

I thought I would be boring but It wa interesting from beginning to end , loved it great job 👌💕👏

Touching !

This story is beautifully written and presented - it is heartwrenching to hear the hope then betrayal in this young girl's words. It is so important to increase awareness in human trafficking, and this book does it with a voice that will not soon be forgotten. Listened to it all the way through - couldn't rest until she was rescued.

Enticing Novel, intriguing performance

To start off, I'm not a passionate reader and find it difficult to keep my attention on any novel without spacing out, forgetting the few sentences I've read not too long ago or just get distracted by something else. Audiobooks also bore me and have actually put me to sleep a few times before. This wasn't the case with this novel however as it was very easy to follow and remember and didn't make me question the direction of the story. The performance of the speaker is alright. It's consistent throughout and the accent she has while reading keeps me interested. The feel times I've felt discomfort or at least disoriented with their performance was when they change accents for the American characters and sometimes the other male natives. The story itself was alright. The plot is straight forward which can be read in the abstract/summary for this book or in any description of a online store without a lot if not any secret subplots that haven't been mentioned in said summary or description. the story is one with a rise to climax and a fall to resolution so its not like there is a sad ending. However the end of the book does leave to interpretation and imagination which isn't as satisfying as having actual closure. Overall, I think this is a fine read. This was novel that I had to read for a freshman inquiry class in college and I would say this is one of the few books that I've read that I was actually able to follow, understand and admire. I wouldn't say this should be anyone's first pick for a book but if you want to know more about other cultures and be able to actually listen and understand the plot of a book once in your life then give an ear!

Amazing!

What did you love best about Sold?

It was gritty and honest. This may have been a retelling, but I am sure this really happens and in exactly this way. Its not for the light hearted and definitely gives you the urge to speak out.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main girl

EVERYONE needs to read this book!

this book is sad and disgusting but EVERYONE needs to read this and know what is happening to these poor young girls! This practice HAS to be stopped WORLDWIDE. The fact that this is still happening in the year 2016 is atrocious! it just shows how ignorant people really are still that the government's can turn such a blind eye to these practices. They know it's happening but they do nothing to stop it. I bet if the government's of these countries were made of women these practices would've ended long ago. The men in these countries , not all but most, should be treated like the women and girls they sell and abuse and see how it feels to be used and degraded. Thank you to the author and to all the people who work against these practices. and thank you to all the women and girls who have been through such horrible ordeals for being strong enough to tell their stories to help the others. To bring awareness to all. I stand with you as a woman.

Hope Against Hope

Mercifully, less brutal and viscerally told than it might have been, this is an engaging tale of true life inhumanity and the hope that dares survive such circumstances.