Review of 'Sold' by Patricia McCormick

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I've never read a book about this real-life subject before, and I think Sold was the best possible book I could have read of it. Of course it was heart-wrenching and horrifying, but the eloquence and beauty of the verse, the way Patricia McCormick wrote it, made it possible to get through. In any other style, a book like this would have been dense, too graphic, too heavy in every sense, and despite not having gone through something like this myself, I would not have been able to make it through.

This book was fast-paced, and despite the final line of a lot of the poems snapping my heart in half, the reading just flowed for me, while resonating. McCormick put a lot of work into this, by interviewing people who had actually been through it, and you could feel that in her writing.

It was simple, with beautiful figurative language, and, while the content was unspeakably sickening, and the tears I was crying for most of it were heart-break, they were also cathartic. And while I was hoping the end would involve Lakshmi returning to her mother, them moving to a safe place, leaving the step-dad behind, I still felt a sense of hopefulness that I think was intended. The end was realistic, and left open for possibilities, possibilities of a brighter future ahead. The traumatic effects of something like this are life-long, but it makes a difference, coming out on the other side, working through the trauma and finding peace and happiness, people who care for you.

And while I would have like to see a page of Mumtaz burning in hell, I'll settle for her finally being caught and punished, and the girls therefore being freed. That is the message I think McCormick wanted conveyed, after all. For people to know that this happens, to see how hard it is to get out of this situation, to raise awareness so that people who don't have the resources to help can spread awareness to those who can, and hope to those who aren't yet saved.



Comments

  1. NicoleOctober 10, 2022 at 7:55 AM

    Hi Helen! I totally agree with some of the things you mentioned. It's easy to see how much work McCormick put into 'Sold' and I love that she didn't just resort to interest research and that she actually went out to interview those that it affected. Obviously the topic is very real, but knowing that most of the story actually happened just makes it feel all that more real. I also noticed how the last line of most verses would be heart wrenching. Something about them was very strong and powerful, and many of them made me stop and contemplate the words before I could continue. Loved reading your thoughts about this book! :)

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