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Ellie Bossenberger

Mrs. Knudson

English 12LC

14 January 2020

Sold

Of all the young adult realistic fiction novels, ​Sold​ by Patricia McCormick may be

the most unforgettable. McCormick, author of popular novels, ​Never Fall Down​ and ​Cut

is a two time National Book Award Finalist. Her most popular novel was ​Sold​. ​Sold​ was

published in 2006.

The book tells the story of one girl, Lakshmi and her journey from a small farm in

Nepal to the not-so “Happiness House” in India. Lakshmi and her mother work on the

farm and take care of her baby brother and speckled goat. The family is desperately

poor because of the stepfather who gambles all their money away. As the family is

unable to protect the farm from the monsoon due to the stepfather’s addiction to

gambling and lack of money, they lose all their crops. To provide for the family the

stepfather forces Lakshmi to start working. He sells her to what Lakshmi thinks is a

“maid service” but is sold into human trafficking. The young innocent girl believes she is

leaving the village into the city to clean large and beautiful houses. McCormick does a

great job giving the audience an example of how sex trafficking can start and how it isn’t

just kidnapping. Human trafficking can start because of a desperate need for money

within poor families which is well showcased in this novel.

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Lakshmi has never seen the world outside her small village, let alone the farm.

The innocent character quickly learns the horrors of the real world. Lakshmi didn’t know

what to expect but wasn’t ready for the violent events. At the beginning of her journey,

she was told “You are safe here only if you do not show how frightened you are”

(McCormick 116). Lakshmi kept this advice in mind during her time in the “Happiness

House” It took her a while to understand what was happening around her but what she

did quickly understand was that it was wrong.

In the happiness house, Lakshmi met the lady in charge, Auntie Mumtaz. She

was in charge of all the girls and their punishments. Mumtaz is harsh takes control of

Lakshmi’s life. If Lakshmi didn’t follow the rules, get enough money, or tried to regain

her freedom she would be tortured.

The main character Lakshmi can take all of the credit for the success of this

book. Lakshmi is an innocent young girl who doesn’t even know what life is like outside

her tiny village. The poor girl quickly sees the dark side of the world as soon as she’s

forced to leave her home and isn’t prepared for the rude awakening of sex trafficking.

Throughout the novel, McCormick explores many issues in addition to human

traffickings like the right to education, torture, unfair detainment, and more. The author

does a great job of giving examples and showcasing the reality of these issues. On her

journey, Lakshmi meets a boy who speaks English. The boy teaches her English

despite the chance of getting caught by Auntie Mumtaz finds out they would both be

punished.
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The emotional events and disturbing story may be difficult for some readers,

however, the format of the book allows the readers to get lost in the book as well as

take a deep breath between disturbing and emotional events. The format of the novel

differs from her previous novels because the novel is made up of poems. The beautiful

poems are written through the point of view of innocent Lakshmi and helped create

Mccormick’s most popular novel.

The book does an amazing job illustrating the horror of human trafficking,

however, the book is a quick and easy read because of the short poems. It allows you

to get lost in the poems and the innocent life of Lakshmi. Many people according to

good reads, would also describe this book as “powerful” and “beautifully written.” ​Sold​ is

a wonderful book that I can guarantee you’ll love and will educate you on the reality of

human trafficking.