Sold

Sold, by Patricia McCormick is an amazing, inspiring, and eye-opening book. This book brings light to a major problem that is happening In Nepal, India, and other countries in that area. Although this book is not told by an actual victim of sex-trafficking, I feel that it is an authentic story of actual events that take place. The author traveled to India and Nepal to interview girls who had been rescued from brothels.

From the very beginning, this book was hard-hitting and emotional to read. Just reading about the conditions that the families live under and the daily struggles to survive was heart-wrenching. Hearing about how Lakshmi has had many brothers and sisters who died due to weather or disease is very sad. Her step father gambles away the family’s money while Lakshmi and her mother work very hard to keep themselves, and Lakshmi’s baby brother alive. The family’s well-being depends greatly on the weather. In the dry season the family has a hard time staying hydrated, and many babies do not make it through this time. Then, when the monsoons hit the families are relieved to finally have water. This does not last long though because the floods quickly wipe away their crops and tear down their mud huts. This is so different than the world we live in because even if we have a dry spell there is always water for us to drink. Our crops might not grow very well, but we always survive. On the other hand, when it rains all we have to do is stay inside, and we don’t have any problems.

Although what I have already said is very sad, nothing even comes close to the real struggle that the book is about. It is absolutely terrible that a family can be so poor that they sell their child to go work in the city to make money. What is worse is that she ended up being taken to India to work as a sex-slave in a brothel. It is heartbreaking to hear about this little girl who thinks she is going somewhere to help her family, but then is forced into acts that are unmentionable for anyone to have to perform, especially a thirteen-year-old girl.

As I read this book I was thinking “how can they let this happen? Where are the police? Can’t someone help these little girls?” Then, I realized this is something that happens in our own country. If sex trafficking is able to occur in a country that has many laws and regulations, no wonder that it can happen over there. I do not mean that to sound like our country is better, but it seems that we have more laws that are enforced to help diminish this practice. It breaks my heart that even the police, the people who are supposed to help the people and stop these things from happening, can be paid enough money that they would ignore such a terribly criminal act.