Sold( Cameron Newton)

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 Patricia Mcormick's book Sold is an excellent resource for raising awareness about human trafficking victims. It can also be used as a tool to help victims find the words to explain what happened to them. The book was written in such a way that it softens the punch of reality, giving the reader just enough detail to comprehend what is going on but not so much that it becomes overly graphic. The ultimate purpose of this book I beleive, was to inform people who don't know anything about human trafficking in a digestible manner rather than having them read a graphic description in a newspaper. I also believe that Mcormick wanted to instill hope into both victims and readers alike so that we can work towards making a world where this doesn't happen. The ending exists as that flicker of hope, we want to see Lakshmi escape and get back to her Mother, but in the real world we also want real victims to escape. Overall I beleive this book exists as a call of sorts to inform and advocate for programs to help prevent trafficking as well as hel those who are victims. 

Comments

  1. NicoleOctober 10, 2022 at 7:59 AM

    Hi Cam! I hadn't even thought about what you mentioned at the beginning of your post. You said "It can also be used as a tool to help victims find the right words to explain what happened to them". That is so true and I didn't even realize it. Many victims keep quiet or even if they do decide to open up about their horrific experiences, they're not sure how to talk about it. This could absolutely be used as a tool for that. That's such a good point and I hope there will be people in the future that can find this book useful for sharing things like that.

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  2. AngelOctober 11, 2022 at 8:33 PM

    You mentioned the book not being overly graphic while still getting the right emotions across. I think this is very important because we, as a society, tend to treat victims of things like, in this case, sexual assault as damaged goods and make them feel like their whole existence is almost tainted. If this novel chose to use more graphic imagery, I believe that is what most readers would treat it as. Maybe I am wrong but that kind of intimacy does not sit right with me or feel respectful, especially considering the fact that Lakshmi was just a child.

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