06.07.07
Sold by Patricia McCormick
(Sensitive Topic)
Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old from a mountain village in Nepal, thinks she is being hired as a maid when her stepfather “trades” her for 800 rupees. Instead, she is forced into prostitution in India.
Kay EJSHS said,
June 14, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I thought Sold was a deeply touching book. It was no surprise what happened to Lakshmi, but the story of her struggles makes you root for her. A great Sunday afternoon read!
Melissa VHS said,
October 23, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Sold was indeed a deeply touching book. The most disturbing part of the book, to me, was when Lakshmi first went into a room with a man. Patricia McCormick does a good job with “describing” this scene. She leaves the details vague and lets the reader come up with their own description of the encounter. Letting the readers come up with their own description makes the scene even more disturbing for others.Anything could have happened in that room and readers make up their own feelings that Lakshmi was going through.
Heather vhs said,
October 23, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Sold was an extremly well written book that puts you right in the story. The most disturbing part for me was when Lakshmi is put with her first customer. The horrible realization was described so vividly that you could really relate to her pain. Lakshmi was so determind to support her family but she realizes now that she might not have the heart to. In the end this book is a good read that alerts you to real problems going on in other parts of the world.
Victoria vhs said,
October 23, 2007 at 4:16 pm
For me the most disturbing parts of the book were when Lakshmi was kind of discribing what goes on in Happiness house. Even though the descriptions are extreamly vague, my imagination filled in what was going on.
I think “Sold” was a good way to make people aware of sex slavery. For me it brough one sympathy for those who have this brought upon this. Even though “Sold” was an easy read, I think it does NOT make a good Sunday afternon read.
Lauren VHS =] said,
October 23, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I was very impressed with Sold. It was a very emotional book for me. I could feel her pain when she describes missing her family.
The most desturbing part for me personally was when the headwoman threatens to mutilate and sell one of her workers infants to a beggar to pay off her debit, simply because a beggar with an injured child would get more money. It was a disgusting thought because how could you possibly harm a child that young, and to permanently disfigure them for life? Its just simply imhumane.
Melissa 2 VHS said,
November 26, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I believe one of the most disturbing things in the book was when Lakshmi was beaten, starved, then drugged to forced her to work. When she was drugged and had her 1st costumer, it was horrible how helpless she was and couldnt stop what was happening to her.
Nicole AHS said,
November 26, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Sold is the first book of this nature that i have read in a very long time. This is an amazing and informational book about what happens in other countrys as well as our own (i belive). This book is very emotional and heart breaking. There we a couple of parts that were very disturbing to me, the first would have to be when they lock Lakashimi up for many days with out food or water and then druged her so that the headwoman could collect her money. The other moment that disturbed me was when the headwoman said that the mother could sell her baby to pay off her debts and she would then sell the child to abeggar woman. This book should be an insperation to people every where to help stop the prostotution in every country around the world. Another thing that occured to me when i finished the book was i wonder if Alma and her Step fater knew they were selling her into slavery?? The fact that she was only thirteen at the time she was sold into slavery and about only a year later was saved from it she was defenately a luck one, there are girls that are sold into slavery everyday and most of them are not so lucky.
Elizabeth VHS said,
November 27, 2007 at 4:16 pm
This book gets a 9 out of 10 from me just because it is one of the few books that I have been so enraged by that I thrown them.
What is the main thing that sustains Lakshmi while she is at the brothel?
Her hope of earning enough money to leave.
What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you?
The whole story disturbed me…but the most distrubing thing to me was the American that she turned to that used her and the taking of her virginity…:(
Ashley AHS said,
November 28, 2007 at 9:24 pm
“Sold,” in my oppionion, had a strong story line and was filled with information that would make the readers think of things like what happen to Lakshmi, happen to girls in our world today. It’s horrible to think that some girls, our age even, are being treated like sex objects! It’s atrocious, and more than anything, wrong! I wish that the book would have been a little longer and said what had happend to Lakshmi. Did she ever see her family again? Did the other girls get help as well? So many questions that were left unanswered.
Xing AHS said,
December 14, 2007 at 11:01 am
A very emotional book that had really got my attention. I can’t believed that her stepfather would actually sold her for money. The worse part was the way Mumtaz had abused her. For example, locked her up without foods or drinks for days and weeks. I think Patricia should finish up the book telling what happen to Lakshmi after American had arrived. Did she went back home? What happen to that evil Mumtaz? What punishment should be given to Mumtaz??
Bridgett VHS said,
January 23, 2008 at 1:42 pm
1. What is the main thing that sustains Lakshmi while she is at the brothel?
The main thing that kept Lakshmi working was the fact that one day she was going to see her family again.
3. What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you?
One of the disturbing parts of the book was the fact that she had to lay with dirty, smelly, disease ridden men. The main one that got to me was the fact that her stepdad know that she was going into prostitution and didn’t care.
SarahSHSDoerr1 said,
February 7, 2008 at 9:51 pm
1.What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you?
I think the most disturbing part of the book to me was that she was drugged to go with her first costumer. I also thought that it was very horrible that they could get these diseases so easily and they weren’t allowed to protect them selfs. This book really lets you into the lives of these poor girls thankfully it didn’t give all the details of they encounters. But the author gives you an idea of whats going on which you fill in with details.
Mary EJSHS said,
February 11, 2008 at 10:21 pm
1. What is the main thing that sustains Lakshmi while she is at the brothel?
The main thing, I think, that sustains Lakshmi while she is at the brothel, or better known as the “Happiness House”, is the hope that she will be able to work off her debt to Mumtaz and send money to her family in Nepal to help them and, in turn, one day be free to return home to them. This glimmer of hope she has for her family and her freedom is all that sustains her and keeps her doing what she is doing. So, everyday she pays a little of her debt to Mumtaz off by bringing men to her room. She has to believe that what she is doing is justified, that it is the only way she can ever be free and be able to help her family or she would breakdown completely. Then when she is told by Shilpa that Mumtaz was lying to her this whole time, that she would never be allowed to leave that Happiness House, she allows herself to believe it. It is at this point in the book that we see that this was what kept her sustained, believing that if she continued to bring men to her room that one day she would be able to pay off her debt to Mumtaz and return home to her family to be free. After Shilpa tells her this, Lakshmi begins to question everything and everyone, not knowing whom she can and cannot trust. After this Lakshmi has nothing to sustain her, nothing to cling on to for hope. Even though at the end of the book it was “her American” that saved her, it was her hope of freedom that sustained her long enough to be saved.
Carly SHS said,
February 20, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Sold was an emotional book that puts things into an entirily different perspective. The way it was wrote put you right there with Lakshmi through out the entire story. What seeemed to be very emotional, not to mention disturbing, was her first time with a man. The author gave you just enough detail to imagine how it would have been. It shows some of the many realities in the world today. Woman being sold into prostitution, it’s all just very wrong but very real.
Kaitlinshsdoerr4 said,
February 23, 2008 at 2:26 pm
1.That her family is getting what they need (tin roof, food, replacement earrings, coats for everyone).
2.Yes, like Uncle husband, he wasn’t even her husband or uncle
3.When they were describing what went on in the house. Facts that very young virgins paid good price.
Carolyn EJSHS said,
February 23, 2008 at 3:28 pm
1. What is the main thing that sustains Lakshmi while she is at the brothel?
Lakshmi’s main source of hope and comfort at the beginning of her stay at the Happiness House was the memories she had of her home and the hope that she could return. She clings to her old clothes, but after a while the smell and memories begin to fade. By doing some calculations, she finds a new determination to return home by saving up her money to pay back her debts. This, too, fails her as her clothes did when the landlady reveals that she will never be able to buy her freedom back again. At this point, Lakshmi tries to find what happiness she can, and finds some in the book of the David Beckham boy. He teaches her to read and write some English, which helps her make it through most of the rest of her enslavement. After he left, only her slight hope for a release from her prison kept her going long enough to meet the American.
Response to Ashley AHS -
I disagree with your opinion that the book should have continued to describe what happened to Lakshmi and the other girls. I think that by ending the book with her escape, the author created a very powerful ending that causes readers to really think about the situation than just accept a happy (or sad, for that matter) ending. The last part of the book sticks in your mind because you don’t know what happens. Anita was left behind at the brothel because she was afraid of trickery, and by leaving her fate unknown the author helps reinforce the fact that the sexual slavery of these girls is a problem today and that the number of girls still enslaved far outweighs the number freed. Furthermore, the ending places emphasis on the last words of Lakshmi where she tells her name, age, and birthplace in English. I think that this helps show that the release is a transition into a new life, and that though she went through a very hard time she has still retained her identity.
Hannah CHS said,
February 26, 2008 at 1:36 pm
This book was such a wonderful read. It kept me wanting to keep going, even after I had finished the book. It seems so real [I suppose it's becuase it's based on true events] and that just made me want to read even more. The book was written differently, but that just added to my love for it. I would suggest this book to anyone who likes to read.
ChrisEJSHS said,
February 28, 2008 at 9:24 am
3. What is the most disturbing part of this story for you?
Overall I have impressed with this story. It was pure example for slaves in prostitution. I think it must have been dead on in all aspects of slavery and prostitution. As good as this story was there were still some very disturbing parts in it. There were several that just got to me and I must write about. So here goes…
The worst by far was the fact that her stepfather sold her into prostitution. For a parent or a guardian to do such a thing, is just horrid. It is my firm opinion that something should happen to her stepfather, putting a young girl into prostitution for money is sick.
Another part that I found gruesome is when she was brutally beaten and starved, to get her to work. Then when that did not work the headmistress drugged her, so she had no choice, and no control. She just sort of became a rag doll.
Another part that I found absolutely grotesque is when the headmistress threatens the works, that she will harm one of the babies then sell it to a beggar, just so she can get out a debit she owes. No one should ever harm a child it’s just terrible the something like this might happen. The woman, the headmistress, should just be put to death or some other form of pain, so she can see how it feel to be miserable and abused for a change.
Maggie EJSHS said,
March 4, 2008 at 8:55 pm
What is the main thing that sustains Lakshmi while she is at the brothel?
When Lakshmi arrived at the Happiness House, she was afraid, confused and truly innocent. She didn’t know what was in store for her or how long she would have to endure it. So, after her first night at the brothel, I can only imagine (actually I’d prefer not to) how shattered she was. However, she didn’t give up and quit emotionally or physically. In the end, her mental game is what sustained her. Her hope was supported by her memories and her friends that were suffering yet pursuing their dreams as well. These people were remarkable and inspiring once Lakshmi heard their stories and opened herself up to them as well. Her memories of home and her family kept her thoughts of the future of brighter as well as giving her some of the only optimistic thoughts she had. The magnitude of how well Lakshmi kept herself moving forward is shown by a comparison of her and the new girl that arrived after her. The new girl took her life by hanging herself by the linens after the first night. When I read about this incident, I was not only overwhelmed by how heartbreaking this situation was, but also by how inspirational Lakshmi was, as well as the other girls that didn’t give up. Unfortunately, suicide was probably a very good-looking thought to innocent girls that were sold by unknowing or terrible parents. I wish so much that hope could be given to all of these girls in the world today that have been sold into prostitution.
Kat H EJSH said,
March 17, 2008 at 11:16 am
1.What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you?
The worst part that really made me feel really sad and sympathetyic for their situation was when they had to go through all the beatings, molestation and childbirth at that young of an age. Also when their in-laws forced the girls to write letters to their mother telling them that they were having a great holiday, that made me feel so frustrated because they were really in Yemen being tortured! I was truly kind of hurt because I’m very compassionate and even though it was just a story it made me really sad. I really do sympathisize with these brave girls who were brave enough and strong enough to deal with such immorality and brutality. It’s quite heartbreaking that this actually goes on somewhere in the world. What a great story that shows how the world as we know it is not anywhere close to being perfect.
sabi. J ELCHS said,
March 18, 2008 at 11:19 am
the most disturbing part for me is reading how the stpefather sellls her and there is no affection shown by him, like he is just doing another gambling hand. and although what she goes throught is a terrible tragic ting but seeing a human being acted so low is about the lowest part ever.
Kat H EJSH said,
March 18, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I agree with ChrisEJSHS because I also think that the fact that her stepfather sold her into prostitution was completely disgusting and most definetly “horrid”. I also agree that something should happen to her stepdad because to put a young girl-much less anyone- into prostitution for money or not for money is sick anyway it is said or done. Yuck.
Sam EJSHS said,
March 23, 2008 at 8:15 pm
3. What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you?
One of the most disturbing parts of this story for me was when she was tlaking about how she did not know what was going on when she was put into her room and men would just come in. It disturbed me when she told in detail how they came onto her and what they did to her. This part still haunt me and crawl under my skin when i think about them. I think that prostitution is very wrong and nobody should ever be sold into it, no matter how badley you need money. It is very gruesome to have men you do not know come onto you like that just to have pleasure from a young girl. It freaks me out when i hear about it and made me have goosebumps when it talked about how the men came into her room and how they hurt her in many ways. I know nobody would ever want to go through with that. Aside from that the book was very good and should be read.
KianaEJSHS said,
March 25, 2008 at 5:41 pm
What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you?
The concept of the story Sold, itself was kind of disturbing to me. I thought that when Lakshmi was sold by her stepfather, someone who isn’t ever her blood, for 800 rupees. I of course found this disturbing that someone could be so heartless as to sell his own stepdaughter into some unknown world, but I think that the most disturbing part of the story was when Lakshmi was forced to sleep with the first man the way she did. She was put to sleep so that she could be forced to be with some man she did not know. The terror she felt and the pain. When I first read this I could not believe that some men are capable of being this evil to innocent little girls. Pay for some pleasure. This is the worst thing I think that can happen to a little 13 year old girl. I knew there was such thing as prostitution and that girls are sold into this life, but when I read the somewhat reality from the view of a 13 year old girl I was amazed at how cruel the world could be. People can be the worst, we are our own enemies.
The facts in the back of the book are very disturbing to me because thousands of girls really go through what Lakshmi went through. The fact that thousands of girls are sold from their home into a prostitution house in another country without friends or families is one that is still in my mind. It makes me think about how I take my life for granted and that I should be lucky that I live the wonderful life I do. It makes me feel bad about myself when I am unhappy about the simplest things. This book in the end thought me to appreciate what I have because one day I could lose it all.
AmyL EJSHS said,
March 25, 2008 at 7:27 pm
3.) What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts still crawl under your skin and continue to haunt you?
In the novel Sold, the most disturbing part for me was when Lakshmi had to endure numerous hours of unwilling sexual actions. That is too much for a girl her age to even be thinking about, let alone be doing. If she didn’t do these tings for her cruel, fat owner Mumtaz then she would be beaten and thrown in a room for weeks without food or water. If Lakshmi tried to run away from doing these unspeakable actions she would have red hot peppers put into an area where the sun doesn’t shine and then beaten till she had no strength left.
Another disturbing part I found in this novel was that all of these cruel and horrific things are being done to these girls and nobody is willing to help them. They have to endure a lifetime with themselves as prostitutes and it is not be choice, they are forced to do it. Many people form the city world come in and see what is going on in that Happiness House but not one of them is willing to help these poor girls get out of what they have to do. They all just turn there heads and pretend that nothing is going on in there and that they didn’t see anything out of ordinary.
The main fact that is still crawling under my skin and haunting me is that this kind of illegal prostitution is still going on in our world today. I just cannot think about when I go to sleep at night on my bed somewhere in the world hundreds of teenagers my age and younger have to be forced into prostitution.
jon ejshs said,
March 26, 2008 at 6:29 am
What is the main thing that sustains Lakshmi while she is at the Brothel? What sustains
Lakshmi during her stay at the Brothel is that she was told she would be able to pay off her debts and be let free. She continues to work during her stay so she can send money to her family while paying off her debts. Her want to get back home to her family is the reason she continuously brings men into hr room. She believes that Mumtaz is telling the truth and is so ready to leave that she never suspects that he is lying. When Lakshmi is told that Mumtaz was lying we see why she was doing what she was. She completely7 changes and starts to question everything. This showed that her belief that she would be able to leave was really what kept her going. Lakshmi starts to question her trust with everyone not knowing if she will ever be allowed to leave. She starts having trouble making herself believe that what she is doing is right. Lakshmi stays strong but wonders the whole time if she will ever be set free and allowed to return to her family. In the end Lakshmi is saved by “her American” and was let free. In the end it was her determination to get back to her family that kept her going till she was set free. Lakshmi made her way all the way to the end with her determination to return home once again.
Angelina Shs said,
March 26, 2008 at 8:02 am
Sold was a little Vague at alot of points for me so it was hard for me to connect with the character. It was a good story and a good premise but the character development was under par of what I expected.
I did somewhat connect with the first scene when she is the room with the man but after that this book was somewhat hard to read, due to the way it was written.
nakita chs said,
March 28, 2008 at 10:12 am
I think this is a great book
Ryneisha chs said,
March 28, 2008 at 10:12 am
This book is very phenomenal. It teaches you to love the life you live!
ajene chs said,
March 28, 2008 at 11:49 am
i really like this book its so sad she is a very strong girl and she made it to her distance
JessicaEJSHS said,
April 1, 2008 at 7:30 pm
3. What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you?
For me there was no disturbing part of the story, the book as a whole was disturbing and there were so many small and easy to overlook aspects of it that added to everything. First of all, before she was even sold by her stepfather she was a slave based on gender which I now is custom for certain cultures as hers but it’s still a difficult concept for me to get used to. And then when she was sold she wasn’t even permitted the truth of where she was going and hence was easily manipulated to get there. If she had told the truth and not lied as she was instructed to at the border she wouldn’t have been dragged out of her country to become a prostitute. Once she arrived at her destination she was still not given the knowledge of where she was and her purpose there even after there was no turning back and was simply tossed into the room of her first “customer” with no explanation, not to mention she was only thirteen which exposes how disturbing the story is in a much simpler and more effective way than any description. The reader also gets to see how she changes over time, accepting what she must do “for her family” no matter how much she despises it eventually chasing after customers for the extra money to help pay off a debt which has been fixed to never decrease. Even then if any of the girls became ill or were otherwise incapable of service they were simply thrown out of the only home they’d had since being stolen away from their own against their will, and the only people who even tried to help them had to do it so inconspicuously there was almost no chance at success.
RachelCEJSHS said,
April 21, 2008 at 7:05 pm
3.) What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts still crawl under your skin and continue to haunt you?
The most disturbing part of the novel “Sold” for me is the fact that an inncoent, little girl has been sold into prostituition and has to endure hours of horrific sexual encounters. If Lakshmi refuses to continue with these unspeakable actions she will be beaten to unconciousness and will be thrown into a room for several weeks without food or water. Even if she tries to run away she would have red hot peppers put into an area where the sun didn’t shine and then beaten again, until she had no strength left.
The thing that most bothers me in this novel is that people see what is happening to this little girl and do not a single thing about it. They can see the life and soul being sucked out of an innocent girl and not seem to have a care in the world about it.
The facts that still crawl under my skin are the fact that illegal prostitution is still occuring at this very moment all around the world. It also disgusts me to see a man or whoever “doing” this to young girls and act like it is no big deal, when in fact they are ripping the lives and souls out of these young girls. Futhermore, it seems that not much leagal justice of going into action to try and prevent these terrible things from ever happening!
Hannah EJSHS said,
April 22, 2008 at 4:14 pm
2. Happiness House is a deeply ironic title for the brothel. Were there other such ironies in the novel?
The Happiness House was clearly the most obvious irony in the story. The House is clearly not a place of happiness but rather of distress, abuse, and cruelty. It is also not a home. Although the girls there refer to it as there home, calling all the girls their family, it truly is no home at all. Another irony is that Lakshmi was told she was going to a home to be a maid for a woman, and although when she got there it seemed she had been lied to, she really was a maid in essence. She was working for Mumtaz, her master, who was using her for rupees and really was working as a maid yet it was ironic how she really ended up doing the job she was told she was going to do, yet the job was truly in a whole different light.
Another was with her Uncle Husband. Beyond the fact that he was neither her Uncle nor her Husband, was that the role of an Uncle and Husband is to protect and comfort, which neither of these he did. Lastly I found it ironic that Lakshmi, befor she left her house, promised never to disobey her master, to always comply. She promised this to everyone, yet when she got to Happiness House she disobeyed and rebelled even aftershe had seen what happens to those who do. Like when she say the girl at the train stop being beaten and head being shaved, yet she did it anyway, allowing that to happen to herself.
jazmine vhs said,
April 24, 2008 at 9:04 pm
this book i can say was really sad even for her to be in the happiness house being used i dont know what i would have done if i was in her position
Devin EJSHS said,
May 13, 2008 at 11:39 pm
What is the most disturbing part of this story for you?
I felt for me the most disturbing part was the whole realism that I got out of the book. The amount of graphic images like the events that went on between Lakshmi and her uncle, or the reciprocations of what will happen to her if she does not do what she is told to do. This little girl was used, manipulated and abused and no one did a darn thing to change what was happening to this girl who did not do anything to deserve that kind of punishment. And not only that but how events like this is happening around the world today, and nothing is being to stop that either. The lack of care of people in the story is almost appalling because many people in an offset way could relate some event in there life to a semi-same way.
JeffEJSHS said,
May 15, 2008 at 5:52 pm
3.) What is the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts still crawl under your skin and continue to haunt you?
The most disturbing part of the novel “Sold” for me is the fact that an inncoent, little girl has been sold into prostituition and has to endure hours of horrific sexual encounters,just to get money to pay off a debt. The fact that still crawls under my skin is that she was put into a brothel and was being exploited by men much older than she was.