Sold

By: Patricia McCormick

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

Eye opening story ofHorror and Heart.

"Sold," was gripping and tragic. The horrible realization of this poor girl that what she thought was going to be her family's salvation, was actually a form of damnation for herself. Lakshmi has so much heart in the face of so much evil. You fall in love with this girl that so cherished the simple things of her village and wanted only a tin roof for her mother. It's only a 3 hour book but it leaves you with a lesson I don't think I'll ever forget.

Beautiful writing, haunting story

The power of the human spirit is alive in this story of abuse of power. The young girl in this story is wise beyond her years and she never gives in entirely. She is tested over and over. I could feel my blood boil as I listened. The writing is beautiful. The metaphors and the imagery are superb.

Difficult to face the truth but worth every minute

This puts my life and challenges into perspective and I am grateful to the author for her research and commitment to help bring this crime to humanity out into the open so it can help to change and eventually eliminate this inhumane treatment of young girls by men and the women who control and keep the young girls in forced sexual slavery . I can only imagine that the research and writing was very much more difficult than the listening. Thank you for your work.

End = drops you off a cliff

Story is promising, but book ends quite suddenly and without much explanation. Very disappointed. Good story though...

Love Finds a Way

No matter what language or country there are those who love and those who need love even when the first response is rejection.

There are those who strive for selfish reasons to smother all that is good, They love darkness more than light.

This was a well-written story that tells a truth of that struggle.

My name is Lakshmi. I am from Nepal. I am 13.

STORY (fiction) - This is a chilling story of human trafficking which needs to be heard. It is sad, but it's beautifully written and performed. As the summary suggests, Lakshmi's parents are tricked and she is sold into prostitution at the age of 13. The book is short (3:44). It begins with perhaps an hour of her poor-but-happy life in Nepal before she is sold, then there's a trip to India where she is passed around to different bidders. The largest part of the book is her life in the brothel. It is a poignant story of how she is able to survive a life of unspeakable evil.

The story is sad but absolutely stunning. At the conclusion, the narrator spends about a minute talking about the staggering number of young girls sold into prostitution every day all over the world and what is being done to help them. I'm very glad I listened to this book.

PERFORMANCE - Beautiful. She has the perfect voice for an innocent young woman who is trying to be brave and strong. Her accent is refreshingly different, whether it's authentic Nepalese or not.

OVERALL - Mature audiences only, and I'd think this story would appeal more to women than men. There is no cursing, but there is a lot of cruel treatment. The sexual scenes are not at all graphic -- just references to things like unzipping pants, grunting, etc. I thank the author for being tastefully vague!

Haunting Sex Trade novel

If you could sum up Sold in three words, what would they be?

Betrayal of Innocense

Which scene was your favorite?

The internal dialogue about trusting anyone - the white man with the white card.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Although I've read nonfiction on human trafficking and viewed documentaries, this book told in first person through the eyes and heart of a 12 year girl had a greater impact.

5 Stars

This book is 100% amazing!!! I never read books 2 times and this one is one that I def would. It's soooo engrossing. Completely in love

Interesting

This book started out a bit slow but it was interesting to learn about another culture. This book was valuable as it brings awareness to the horrors of human trafficking. It is hard to comprehend that this actually goes on in the world. I would have liked to know more of the story, what happens to the heroine after the end of the book, the continuation of her journey.

Hard to hear

The story is universal and has gone on for thousands of years. That this should still be happening to thousands of women and girls is outrageous. It is heart wrenching to hear that even as much as we have evolved, the capacity for cruelty to others in the world is not diminished one bit.