Check it out on WORLDCAT...
Part I: Bibliographic information
Type: Novel
Title: Sold
Writer: Patricia McCormick
Copyright Date: 2006
Publisher: New York: Hyperion.
ISBN:
Genre/Subgenre: Young adult fiction/Social Issues
Interest Age: 13 - 25
Reading Level: Upper Grades (UG 9-12)
Wordcount: 9780786851713
Pages: 263
Awards:
National Book Award Finalist, Young People's Literature, 2006
YALSA Ten Best Books for Young Adults, 2007
A Junior Library Guild selection.
Notable Book for a Global Society award winner, 2007
Part I: Plot Summary, Critical Evaluation, Reader’s Annotation
Reader’s Annotation -- A heart-wrenching tale of a 13-year-old Nepali girl whose life of rural poverty leads to her being sold into prostitution. She narrates the experience into a dark underworld of Indian brothels from which few of these unfortunate girls emerge with much of their health and humanity intact.
Plot Summary -- The story begins in a rural Nepalese village where oppressive poverty defines the daily lives of young Lakshimi. She has a lazy stepfather who cannot work due to an injury so gambles all day and forces them further into poverty. Their rented shack has a tin roof that will soon need repair. Her mother is doting and does everything to help the girl and her little brother stay healthy. But a bad season and luck at gambling lead her stepfather to bring a woman to the village that is introduced as “Auntie”. She is really a sex trade courier who helps trick Lakshimi into thinking she can make good money working for a rich family in the city. They transport her across the border into India where she finds herself at a horrific brother of young women who are initiated in a locked room and sold as virgins. Later she becomes one of six girls that share a room in which prostitution is conducted behind and sheets. The evil madames uses threats of violence and a belt to rule them like animals -- forbidding the use of condoms and only resorting to medical care if they are on the verge of dying. Lakshimi dreams of returning home but learns from others that they are never welcome back in their villages. She also learns that she was sold for very little but owes this money in addition to her expenses back to the madame. The girls are contacted by some Americans who offer to help them out of their situation but they fear them as well. Illness is not uncommon and Lakshimi has a horrible fevers that nearly kill her. Other girls fall ill with consumption and are forced on the streets. They learn that their hope of buying their way to freedom is a delusion as they are charged for everything and interest is applied.
Critical Evaluation -- Lakshimi’s story is both captivating and difficult to read. It’s as though you were visiting this place she is forced to be -- and to hear the move specific details of her plight. The author maintains the air of innocence that begins the novel throughout by having her tell of the sexual aspects through the eye’s of a child. In which the penis is ‘a monster’ that comes out of the zipper and the ‘nasty things’ that the more perverted men give her extra money to do. Yet the reader gets the meaning and one hardly knows how to react to such a tale it’s so ghastly to imagine. The author is known for her edgy subjects -- she took on cutting in another novel. The contrast of the rural life that Lakshimi leaves behind and the city’s cruelty and indifference toward these vulnerable girls creates a moving portrait. It’s not a work soon to be forgotten. Yet one that will open the eyes of teens to a social issue that is very real and equally tragic.
Part III: Author Info
If book awards were Oscars, Patricia McCormick would be close to a lifetime achievement in little over a single decade since she first published for young adults. She has almost singlehandedly renewed the social issues genre within YA with her investigative reporting approach to literature. From her controversial book about self-injury to the most recent about the brutality of the Khmer Rouge dictatorship, she’s tackled some social demons with powerful words and insightful focus. She is simply a terrific crafter of story and a YA voice to include on any list of recommended reads.
“Patricia McCormick is a journalist and writer. She graduated from Rosemont College in 1978, followed by an M.S. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1986 and an M.F.A. from New School University in 1999. Her first novel for teens was Cut, about a young woman who self-injures herself. This was followed by My Brother's Keeper in 2005, about a boy struggling with his brother's addiction and Sold in 2006. Her awards include the American Library Association Best Book of the Year, New York Public Library Best Book for the Teenaged and the Children’s Literature Council’s Choice,” according to Good Reads (Patricia McCormick biography, n.d).
Part IV: Curriculum Ties, Diversity, Booktalk Ideas, Challenge Issues
Curriculum Ties, if any -- This work could be discussed within the context of sexual education or health. The unsafe sex practices leads to illness amongst all of the girls. McCormick’s website offers book discussion guides for each of her works, including Sold.
Diversity of Cultures -- It’s hard to see a rich culture that is India portrayed in this light but where there is beauty there is often the other side as well. Teens today are more away of global issues and social challenges do to the internet. This novel addresses an issue that affects many cultures throughout the world. It should be viewed in context of being a global social issue and not specific one culture, in my opinion. Yet the reality is that in nations where poverty remains rampant young women are often vulnerable to exploitations of all sorts.
Booktalking Ideas -- This book goes a long way to exploring the dynamics of how such a practice so abhorrent to a Westerner’s perspective might exist. A discussion of the morality of Westerners actively challenging ancient practices of other cultures might make a good topic to draw out some of the subtle moral issues that sexploitation brings up. Additionally, for all her works, McCormick offers a blog with book summaries written for students on her website/blog, http://patriciamccormick.com/.
Challenge Issues -- I’ve read that this book is age appropriate to 19-20. Make no mistake that this is an intense portrait of the sex trade with some horrific scenes that might be disturbing to any age. It also is one of the best examples that I’ve come across that can be defended on the grounds that literature can be source of information for young people. In this case the issues are the human trafficking, sexploitation and unsafe sexual practices -- for the safety of children, they should be aware of these issues on some level. In fact, one of the ways that humanitarian organizations are combating this issue is to inform young girls in rural areas about these practices. One could argue that children -- and girls in particular -- from all cultures need to be cognisant of the possibility of their own sexual exploitation.
Part V: Reasons chosen
This book was recommended to me by a friend who reads widely. She felt it was an important work that should be included in a YA reads list. I finally brought myself to reading it, which is not an easy task due to how sad it is to think about these girls and their plight. However, I feel that it’s a hugely important topic to discuss with young people and to address as a society -- young people of both sexes should be made aware of the suffering and exploitation involved in the sex trades and the potential for abuse that exists.
Part VI: Citations
Patricia McCormick biography [webpage]. (2013). Goodreads. Retrievd from http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/26250.Patricia_McCormick
Sold [record]. (n.d.) OCLC WorldCat. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/title/sold/oclc/70710278&referer=brief_results
No comments:
Post a Comment