Sold

Twenty-first century slave trade, human trafficking, child prostitution- all controversial subjects we would like to push to the back of our minds, and pretend they don't exist. Patricia McCormick, the author of the Gateway Readers Award winning novel "Sold", made the bold choice to tackle these issues head on with her emotional novel.

Sold tells the story of a young girl named Lakshmi. Her rice-farming family lives in one of the rural, poor regions of Nepal. Although her life has no luxuries, she finds joy in the small things. For Lakshmi, happiness is playing hopscotch with her best friend and relaxing in her mother's arms at night while her hair is brushed. But when her families crops are destroyed by vicious monsoon floods, Lakshmi is shipped off by her stepfather to work as a maid in the city for money. Little does she know, she won't be cleaning anything.

Lakshmi's character, like many girls in real life today, was manipulated and tricked into becoming a child prostitute. She was essentially a victim of 21st century slave trade, and her story grows more heartbreaking with every page you turn.

Every year, 12,000 young girls of Nepal are sold by their families into the sex slavery industry. The United States State department estimates that there are nearly half a million internationally. They're told stories such as they'll be working as maids, attending schools or offering help to someone wealthy, when in reality those stories are just ploys to manipulate the girls' parents.

The girls are then treated as property and exploited in unthinkable, inhuman ways. Patricia McCormick dives deep into this issue, grasping every heinous detail and shining a light on something we would much rather keep in the dark. Her writing is emotional and intense. When Lakshmi cries, tears cloud the readers eye. When Lakshmi aches, the reader feels sore. When Lakshmi is beaten, the reader feels her pain.

Novels like this should be mandatory reading, period. Sold raises awareness of issues that need to be discussed, and does so in a way that is sure to grasp the attention of any reader; young or old, male or female.