Sold

I became interested in this book based on the title and cover alone. When I read the blurb explaining the book I knew this was one I wanted to read.

This is the story about a young girl from Nepal who is sold by her stepfather after a years worth of bad weather both ways leaves them without any crops to live off of or sell. He tells her she is going to work as a maid for a wealthy woman in the city and she will be able to send home money and finally get her mother and younger brother the tin roof on their house that they have always wanted. Only after she arrives at the house in the big city does she realize she was sold to be a prostitute. She is thirteen years old. After being beaten and starved, she finally submits to the lifestyle she was thrown into, thinking that she will be able to save all the money and eventually pay off the Madame who owns her and return back to her family.

This was a fast read. It is told from Lakshmi's point of view and her voice is strong and very powerful. I didn't find this as graphic as it could have been - it was written with very good taste and is classified as a young adult novel, but it leans more to the adult with the young just as an option. If you liked A Thousand Splendid Suns, I really think this is a book that you would find equally captivating. It really is an intriguing book, beautifully written and based on a compilation of stories the author collected. She stated that there is an estimated 12,000 Nepali girls sold into slavery every year. A must read for a mature reader.