Read Aloud Virginia - Book Store - Sold

	List Price: $8.99 Our Price: $8.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Hyperion Book CH
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Binding: Paperback EAN: 9780786851720 ISBN: 0786851724 Label: Hyperion Book CH Manufacturer: Hyperion Book CH Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 272 Publication Date: 2008-04-01 Publisher: Hyperion Book CH Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: 2008-04-01 Studio: Hyperion Book CH
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Editorial Reviews: 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.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Concise Yet Rich Comment: This book was written for Young Adults but is a great read for any age. The free-verse style is concise yet rich and the author does an excellent job at relating the horrors 13-year-old Lakshmi suffered but in a very tasteful way. The book was well researched and the author interviewed actual child victims of prostitution. It's an easy read but don't let that fool you into thinking it was juvenile. It dealt with a very serious subject in beautifully simple prose. Customer Rating: Summary: Fast read...good story Comment: This was a good book, very simple to read, but the story was intense the whole time. Customer Rating: Summary: Sold Comment: Sold, by Patricia McCormick, is a riveting tale of a thirteen-year-old, Nepalese girl who is sold into prostitution. It is historical fiction and incorporates many details of the constant trade of women and girls worldwide that is still occurring today. McCormick herself traveled to India and Nepal to trace the steps that the main character in her novel would take, and was even able to interview women in Calcutta's red-light district who shared their heart-wrenching stories with her. McCormick took away from this experience the idea that these stories needed to be shared because these innocent women and girls were being forced into horrendous situations that they had no control whatsoever over. McCormick lent a voice to these women who had never been able to speak up for themselves, and in the process educated the world on the issue of sex slavery. While a few of the main themes in this novel are fear, loneliness, and cruelty, McCormick also made a point to highlight the main character's immense hope and perseverance, and the strength and self-discovery that came along with that. Even in the face of ultimate defeat, the main character says, "I will be with them all. Any man, every man... I will do whatever it takes to get out of here." (227) McCormick presented her as an innocent bystander who must find a way to deal with a new, harrowing life and this was incredibly moving. It also helped that the book was extremely well-written. Therefore, I would definitely recommend this book. The writing style was poetic and never overwhelming, and McCormick crafted an extremely complex and likable character. This book is especially good for teenagers to read because it makes us appreciate what we have and the things that we take for granted every single day. Another reader also commented that "this book will also show you things that are so painful that most of the world likes to pretend that they don't exist" and I also completely agree with that statement. Overall, Sold was an extremely good, yet harrowing book that opened my eyes to the hardships that other girls my age are facing around the world. Customer Rating: Summary: eye opener. Comment: I live in a well developed suburb in northern Texas with my family. I awake and sleep with the sound of laughing children playing a game of tag or basketball outside my window. I work and make well over enough to pay for my bills with extra spending for my material wants. I gossip and laugh with my mother and sisters every morning and night, and end the day knowing i will see them tomorrow. Yet i protest about my room being too small, my closet too barren, criticize my childhood being too cruel, my friends too superficial. All my complaints didn't occur to be so inconsequential until i read 'Sold' I have wasted valuable time and breath on myself when we have half a million Nepal girls being sold my their families into Indian brothels. No longer will they sleep in their own clean bed, enjoy a game of tag or a laugh with their sister. Most likely they will never laugh again. If self-centered Americans can open their eyes to the world as i have, then what a better place the world would be. I recommend 'Sold' to any and everyone! Customer Rating: Summary: Sold Comment: African hill girl sold into prostatution. Sold was a book about this same 13 year old girl. She was innoccent and all that she wanted to do was earn her family a little extra money when without warning she was swept into the shameful life of of a prostatute. I thought that this book was okay. It had a great plot line but was a bit dull in the middle and kind of ended abruptly. I would reccommend this book to any girl interested in a quick easy read. Although it was a little boring, I think that this was a good book over all. Kari Longstaff More Reviews