It is seldom that a character in a book grabs me by the throat and won’t let me go, but that’s exactly what happened the moment I started reading Sold, by Patricia McCormick.
In case you don’t know, this is one of the most banned books in the United States. Knowing that makes me furious and heart-broken.
Sold, by Patricia McCormick was a National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature.
This book is categorized as a YA (Young Adult) book. I think it should be required reading for “young adults” which includes teens. In fact, I think it should be required reading for ‘tweens.”
If a girl is old enough to be sold into the sex trade, by golly she is old enough to read this book!
I have blogged about book banning several times recently, and I will probably blog about it in the future. It is a practice I do not understand. It is a practice I abhor. It is a practice that, if left unchallenged, will destroy our democracy. Organizations such as Moms for Liberty are trying to take our liberty away under the guise of looking out for children.
Where I come from, you don’t look out for children by taking books away from them. If your narrow-minded self wants to take books away from your own children, you have the right to do that. However, you don’t have the right to take books away from all children.
According to PEN America, Sold, by Patricia McCormick is tied for the sixth most banned book in the United States. It is banned in 11 school districts in six states.
In Sold, Lakshmi, a 12-year-old girl in Nepal is sold by her stepfather. She is taken to India where she is locked in a brothel. She is tricked into thinking that if she works in the brothel long enough, she will eventually be able to pay off the “debt” she owes the madam.
This, of course, is a myth. It works sort of like the tenant farmer system in the United States. The farm owner keeps adding charges to the tenant’s account, so the tenant never gets out of debt. In Sold, the madam keeps adding charges for clothes, make up, electricity, etc. to Lakshmi’s account. Lakshmi thinks part of the money she is earning is going to her mother. She wants her mother to be able to replace the thatched roof on their house with a tin roof. Of course, none of the money she’s earning is being sent to her mother.
This book is written in a short pieces. Each piece gives the reader another glimpse into the miserable life Lakshmi endures.
There is a satisfying ending, in case you shy away from books that don’t resolve in a way you wish; however, most girls like Lakshmi do not experience a happy ending.
The author’s note at the end of the book gives the following statistics (among others) for the time of its writing (2006):
“Each year, nearly 12,000 Nepali girls are sold by their families, intentionally or unwittingly, into a life of sexual slavery in the brothels in India. Worldwide, the U.S. State Department estimates that nearly half a million children are trafficked into the sex trade annually.”
“It won’t happen to my child.”
If you don’t want your 12-year-old daughter to know there is such a thing as sex trafficking, that’s your prerogative. Bury your head in the sand and hers, too, while you’re at it.
That does not mean she won’t fall victim to this sickening crime one day.
Don’t you owe it to her to tell her there are dangerous people out there who are very charming — some are even women — but don’t have her best interest at heart? Just because she doesn’t know sex trafficking exists doesn’t mean she won’t learn about it the hard way.
Since my last blog post
I’ve worked to make my books more visible on Pinterest. Since a free workshop about Pinterest for authors offered by Bookbrush.com helped me realize that Pinterest is a search engine and not social media, I’ve tried to utilize the platform more than I have in the past to publicize my writing. Visit my boards and pins on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/janet5049/.
I found another local independent bookstore that takes self-published books that are published by Kindle Direct Publishing on consignment! I hope to be able to announce in a future blog post that The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes is available at Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina!
I continued to try to get back on Facebook, but there are several forces beyond my control working against me – including the iCloud. All this nearly six-month long saga started with a data breach at Windstream. I miss being able to publicize my blog, website, books, and short stories on Facebook.
Until my next blog post
If Sold is not on the shelf for circulation in your local library system, request that the system purchase it. That is exactly what I did. I hope it will soon be available in the Cabarrus County Public Library system.
I hope you will read Sold, by Patricia McCormick.
For a 2020 US State Department report about human trafficking in Nepal, go to https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report/nepal/. For a US State Department report on global human trafficking, so to https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking-about-human-trafficking/#human_trafficking_U_S. The statistics are overwhelming!
Look for other often-challenged or banned books and make a point to buy them or check them out of the library. Together, we can make a statement louder than that of Moms for Liberty – just like voters across the nation did in last Tuesday’s local school board elections.
Spend time in person or virtually with friends and family, even if they have views that are different from yours. Try to find a way to engage them in conversation about those topics. Try to understand why they believe what they believe.
Last, but not least… remember the people of Ukraine and the Middle East who are victims of dictators, terrorists, and wars they didn’t ask for.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 