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)

Sad.

The things humans do to one another!!! This book just made me feel sad, this little girl went through something I cant imagine having to go through!!! This book is another eye operner to the horrible things thats goes on in this world that we dont think about enough. It makes you want to hold on to your a babies a little tighter!!!

Could Be MY Child, YOUR Child

When I hear of or read a book like "Sold", the first thing that goes through my mind is this, "There but for the grace of God, go we." Though this book is fictional and supposedly geared toward a teen audience, it's a book that EVERYONE needs to read/hear. We, as Americans, have gotten so comfortable in our living rooms with our electronic gadgets, in our fancy SUVs and cars, living in a world where our bellies are full and sometimes our spirits are empty. Even when we HEAR about girls like Lakshmi who are sold in order to work and provide money for their families, it's all too easy to push those unpleasant thoughts back out of our tidy little minds. And it's too easy to say, "Oh, we could never do such a thing . . ." This story of 13 year old Lakshmi, whose step father decided she must be sold to provide money for the family, made me once again re-examine my own values, my own pride and status. I was NOT born in Nepal, Praise God for that. My own parents, though far from perfect, didn't have to decide whether or not to sell me. I was not forced into prostitution as a child. I am humbled by these facts,and I KNOW they are not mistakes. We are NOT given gifts to be squandered. We are not shown the truth to cover it back up again. "Sold" is a mighty story of strength and love, of depravity and abuse. Let's not allow this book to go into one ear and out the other.

"Simply to Endure is to Triumph"

This is a sad but triumphant story about a sad state of affairs all over the world. Little children from desperately poor families selling their daughters and sons into slavery. Maybe they were deceived, maybe they knew full well what was going to happen to their offspring. The end was hopeful but I would have liked a few paragraphs on what happened.

The author was kindly vague about the sex, but sex is the purpose of this practice so it had to be there.

Credit worthy, though the price was perfect.

A Scary Reality

Where does Sold rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

3

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sold?

Her realization that she had been sold into a brothel and her sense of hopelessness.

What about Justine Eyre’s performance did you like?

Good Performance

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This story is a scary reality and the injustice of it all left me feeling unsettled and angry. I also feel fortunate to be a woman born in the western world allowed freedoms that many woman in other parts of the world do not possess.

Powerful

A powerful story to show what young adults and adults alike need to see about a world we believe we understand.

Honoring the victims of sex trafficking

This story is well told and thus honors these girls who are braver than most.

I was hesitant to listen to such a story fearing it would be so depressing and possibly over detailed. Since this is a very real issue I decided to listen. It is sobering but not graphic. I finished it in one day.

The author starts with the girl at home, her poor but happy life in its own way. In this story you understand how a parent is lied to. You come to understand the tragedy of being a prisoner with no chains. The lies that the girls are constantly told to control them. The life they make for themselves in a living hell.

Ashamed, what I liked best was this girl is rescued. There is a happy ending. But the obvious truth, this is most often not the case. So I am glad to have listened. I am now more aware and will possibly be able to recognize and possibly be able to help somehow. Maybe even recognize this crime as it happens in America as well.

Human Trafficing - a must read!

Would you consider the audio edition of Sold to be better than the print version?

The story, the words, are far more profound coming through in the voice of the young girl sold into trafficking. Her hopeful start, her selfless thought in leaving her family behind to make things better for them. the horror at the realization of what has happened, the desperation at the hopelessness - and the glimmer of hope at the end. There needs to be a 2nd installment of this gripping story.

What other book might you compare Sold to and why?

Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibaagiza - a story of the Rwanda Genocide told by the survivor herself.

Which scene was your favorite?

The idyllic childhood scenes in her little village. The love that passed between her mother & grandmother and the child they obviously adored. It made the situation her step gather sold her into even more frightening.

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

A book club selection, again not one I might have picked up on my own - but I have been made a better person with wider opened eyes

The Struggle Against Inhumanity

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

Injustice-Fear-Hope

THE QUESTIONS CHANGED WHEN I SET MY COMPUTER ASIDE. THEREFORE, MY ANSWERS DO NOT COINCIDE WITH THE QUESTIONS. I USE A LOT OF THOUGHT WHEN ANSWERING SOME OF THESE REVIEWS AND THIS IN ONE OF THEM. THEREFORE, I WILL NOT CHANGE MY ANSWERS TO THE DIFFERENT QUESTIONS NOW PRESENTED TO ME.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The book has increased my interest in the subject matter. I knew that places such as Nepal existed but this book has made those places become real. Learning about Nepal, which is one of hundreds or more, only encourages me to learn more. I am now able to understand why men and women give their lives to helping those in desperate need. I will no longer watch commercials with disbelief of the suffering in other countries and their need for monetary help.

What about Justine Eyre’s performance did you like?

The author, Patricia McCormick, presents information that is interesting and insightful. Her novel is short but powerful. She made it possible for me to see the squalor that the most poor of the poor had to endure. I can see the swagger of the step-father who called himself a man. I can imagine what struggles the women and girls must have felt while trudging up the hill time and time again to bring water back down for cleaning, washing and drinking, only to go back up again because they needed more. My throat constricts when thinking of the drought that plagues Nepal and making their thirst real. I can only imagine how the hunger the family had to endure day to day because there was not enough rain or too much rain, that caused their crops to fail. I can even envision the selfish step-father stealing the cucumbers that Lakshmi had grown in hopes of making money. He stole them to get money to supplement his addiction, gambling. Watching Lakshmi leaving home in hopes of working and being able to send money home to her mother was both wrenching but hopeful. I felt the fear and sorrow that Lakshmi felt when she realized that she was being sold as a sexual slave and never being able to earn any money to send home. She also was aware that she would never see her home again and she was filled with sorrow. I can watch her struggle through the days, trying to survive as best as she knew how. I can see her mingling with the other women and being able to smile now and again. The sorrow in her heart when she knew that her friend's were being turned out into the streets, only to suffer more, made me want to weep. Being unable to trust was an emotion that stung my heart and mind to the core. This made Lakshmi hopeless putting thoughts of suicide running through her mind. Having the American's bring words of possible escape, that immersed her with both hope but also with fear that her life could even be worse, wrenched my mind and made my stomach lurch. The elation that came with her escape and the knowledge that she would survive with dignity did make me cry.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There was nothing wrong about the narrator's performance. Justine Eyre's performance was excellent. She was able to create character's that became real. I could see the face of the disreputable step-father who was no more useful to mankind then the dirt under your feet. The mother, who had to suffer the degradation that was her life, I saw and felt the unfortunate knowledge of what she knew her future would bring nothing but more despair. I could see the face of Lakshmi, when she became angered by the step-father that she knew to be useless. I can see her the day she left her home to go to the city. Her eyes were filled with anticipation of her future and also the future of her mother. She dreamed of sending the money she earned back home so that her family could dig out of the crumbling world of poverty that surrounded them. I can also see the fear, resignation and hope through the most devastating year of her young life living in a brothel as a "whore." The narrator brought the character's to life.

Any additional comments?

Horror at the way third world countries try to survive is merciless. They accept their hopelessness and try to make it through to another day. Life is not guaranteed to anyone and to have a newborn arrive is painful. Knowing this infant has more of a chance dying than living is their reality. I could continue forever and the words of despair would never stop. These men and women do not know any other reality. I now understand why America sends more money and supplies to these countries. If only I knew that the money and supplies were used to help those most in need and not the greedy becoming richer, I could truly believe in kindness. However, knowing that the leader's of these countries do not care only leaves me distrustful. If I could see our help given to those who need the help, than I would be able to become a believer in our generosity being used for its true purpose. Otherwise, I remain a skeptic.

Loved it!

Easy to read. sad yet engaging story with a call to action. Very insightful information

A difficult topic, but brilliantly done.

This is a work of fiction, but its based on events that happened and that still happen every day.

Even with all the progress that has been made, sexual slavery is still a reality in many countries and thousands of young girls and boys fall victim to it every year.

This book is created around the character of Lakshmi a Nepalese girl who is 13 at the beginning of the story and 14 at the end. We begin with a description of her life with her family, life is hard, but she's happy and loved. Then her step father sells her and she is tricked into leaving Nepal and going to India where she becomes a victim of the sex slave trade. The book covers about a year of her life in a brothel where she is forced to work as a prostitute.

In the book Patricia navigates the line between giving us enough information to make sure the horror of the situation cannot be missed while trying to keep things somewhat tasteful, this is a challenge since the line will fall in different places for different people, but I think she managed it.

The subject matter made it tough to listen to, and I believe that it's not suitable for a young audience, while at the same time I'd like to say that everyone should listen to it.

Justine Eyre does one of the best narrations I have ever heard, as she narrated this story I heard the voice and thoughts of a 13 year old Nepalese girls, not someone attempting to sound this way. I don't know how she managed it, but it must have taken a lot of work, just amazing!