Imagine having your parents sell you into prostitution and you don't realize it until it's too late. Sold by Patricia McCormick is novel about a girl, Lakshmi, who lives in the mountains of Nepal and is forced to leave her home due to a monsoon. After the disaster, her home, crops and livlihood and family is left destitute and in dire need of help. As a result her father arranges her to be picked up and brought to a large city in India, where she is works as a prostitute and the money is then given back to her family. Lakshmi however, thinks that she is just going to the city to be a maid.
What is most appealing about the book is that you never knew what was going to happen next. It was suspenceful. For example, Lakshmi never knew where she was going or who was taking care of her. She didn't know when she could see her family again, if she'd end up being a worker at the Happiness House her whole life. If someday she was no use and they'd throw her out on the street.
Another enticing part of this novel, is the knowledge that there are actually young girls, age 13, going through similar experiences all over the world.
I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in global issues and who wants more knowledge on different cultures and a clear view that not every country is as safe as America.