The Bookworm says... YES.
Sold by Patricia McCormick was absolutely incredible. Lakshmi is a thirteen year old girl living in mountainside Nepal with her ama, her baby brother, and her stepfather that has a gambling problem. After the drought, their family is struggling. The crops have dried up, and the last of their savings has been gambled away on a motorcycle. Lakshmi is sent by her stepfather to the city, where she will work as a maid and send her earnings back home. Lakshmi is excited, and proud to be the first of her family to leave their small mountain side village. However, when she reaches the city, she sees the harsh reality of her situation. She is not going to be working as a maid; she has been sold into prostitution. She will "work" for Mumtaz, alongside several other young girls, until she can pay back her debt. Mumtaz cheats the girls out of their earnings, making it next to possible to escape. The friendships make the time pass quicker, but the girls are still stuck in a prostitution house. Unless an escape walks through the front door, they are doomed.
Sold was amazing. Absolutely amazing. It was painful, it was sorrowful, it was depressing, and it was scarring, but above all it was real. A world wide wakeup call, this is a harsh reminder of why we need feminism. Girls all over the world, especially in middle eastern countries, are sold in to prostitution each day. If this book isn't a haunting enough implication that we need to make a change, I don't know what is.
Sold is a National Book Award finalist.
"My bundle is light. My burden is heavy."
