Response to "Sold" - Angel Brakorenko

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 This novel definitely takes the cake for how dark and disturbing the content is. At least for me. I remember that when I got to the first "time" when Lakshmi was drugged, I had to take a little break just because of the anger and absolute horror I felt for that child. As I mentioned before in class, I do not believe that I would come out of something like that without breaking in some way and the women in the Happiness House continued to live and survive in those conditions day after day, still being able to laugh after what was being done to them. 

Unlike all of the previous books we have read, this one I would not teach to younger grade levels. Juniors and seniors in high school would be a more appropriate demographic. Not that we shouldn't raise awareness in the younger kids, but this novel is definitely not the one to do it with. Some parts were just too vivid, even if the author did not particularly use extremely descriptive phrasing or graphic wording during the more horrid scenes in the book. 

Overall, I would give this work a 5/5 star rating. I never expected that a book written in verse could impact me so much and would become a structure that I actually love. Plus, this is the first work of literature that I have read surrounding the theme of human sex trafficking and I am grateful to understand the victims and the problem itself just a little more. 

Comments

  1. HelenOctober 9, 2022 at 11:48 AM

    I agree with everything you've written here. I was impressed with how well she could convey the emotions and the scenes by using more poet and less explicit language while still getting across the impact in a way that jars the reader emotionally. I was crying for most of the book, sick to my stomach for most parts, my heart breaking for pretty much all of it. I believe it's definitely a book for older audiences, but that we should still teach the subject to younger audiences in a milder way.

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