Parents' Guide to

Sold

By Lucinda Dyer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Unforgettable story of Nepali girl sold into sex work.

Book Patricia McCormick Contemporary Fiction 2006
Sold Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 7 parent reviews

MaiaraZephyr
MaiaraZephyr Adult
November 16, 2018
age 12+

I'm an adult and I wish I read this as a kid.

I think the problem with being an adult and being a middle schooler is the age difference. We forget the maturity or the lack of maturity that a child of 12+ can have. Yet, I think it's partly our own faults. Parents want to bubble wrap their children and that's how things like this can happen. As a 21 year old college student I read this book and I never saw the true horrors of the world and I wished I did. We need to give our children the benefit of the doubt and open their minds to these things. As a society and a country we do our children and our generation little good by shutting everything away. If you're afraid of the content for your child, read it with them, make them understand and teach them how to treat this subject with respect and maturity. It's not the teachers job to do that, it's the parents and/or guardians. We need to step up to the plate and do our duty as adults to teach these kids learn and grow as adults.

This title has:

Educational value
2 people found this helpful.
Joy S.
Joy S. Adult
April 4, 2017
age 18+

Important Subject, but Not for "under 18s"

While the story provides an unflinching look at the crime of sex trafficking in Nepal and India - a practice that should be condemned and eradicated- the graphic nature if the narrative is inappropriate for children, pre-teens, and teens under the age of 18. The descriptions of the ongoing rape/violation and physical abuse suffered by the girls is emotionally disturbing and traumatic for many younger teens. Additionally, the description of one girl's suicide and the Nepalese mothers drinking the juice from the ink tree so that they will cause themselves to miscarry babies that they do not want to be born only to die later, yields difficult classroom discussions. This is particularly true when the teacher may not be aware of the personal beliefs or opinions of the student's family on such topics. I would strongly recommend that teachers who select this book for whole class guides reading activities first secure the consent of the parents to have their child participate. Encouraging parents to read the book with their child allow them the opportunity to facilitate discussions of the content in a way that they find developmentally appropriate.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

SOLD is the story of 13-year-old Lakshmi, who lives in a tiny village in Nepal with her mother, baby brother, and stepfather. Lakshmi's family is poor, owing in part to her stepfather's gambling habit. But she goes to school, has a beloved pet goat, and imagines what her life will be like when she marries a local boy named Krishna. It's an innocent life, so innocent she can't imagine what awaits her as she travels with her new "Auntie" and then "Uncle Husband" to a job in Calcutta. Instead of working as a maid and sending money home to her family, she finds herself trapped in a brothel with seemingly no way of escape.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (16 ):

Chilling and heartbreaking, this award-winning novel's spare first-person account of a teen Nepali girl sold into sex work is unforgettable. As it's written in free-verse vignettes (some only a few paragraphs) rather than chapters, readers are able to take an emotional breath between scenes they find disturbing. The book's many awards are well earned and an accurate reflection of this remarkable work.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in Sold. Does the fact that the book is written in free verse and features short scenes make it easier to absorb the disturbing content?

  • If you haven't seen the film adaptation of Sold, do you think Lakshmi's story would be as powerful on film as it was when you read the novel and used your imagination to fill in things not described? If you have seen the film, how does it compare to the novel? Which do you like better?

  • The U.S. State Department's estimate (included in the author's note) is that 500,000 children are trafficked to the sex trade each year. Why do you think countries allow this to happen? What should be done to stop it?

Book Details

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