Sold
Specifics
APA Citation: McCormick, P. (2006). Sold. New York: Hyperion.
Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Diverse Protagonist
Lexile Level: 820L
Audience: This book could be used in a mature middle school classroom. This is a novel I'd like to read and discuss as a class, as it can have a big effect on the students reading it and I'd like for them to have the opportunity to work through it as a group.
Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Diverse Protagonist
Lexile Level: 820L
Audience: This book could be used in a mature middle school classroom. This is a novel I'd like to read and discuss as a class, as it can have a big effect on the students reading it and I'd like for them to have the opportunity to work through it as a group.
Summary
Sold by Patricia McCormick is about a young girl, Lakshmi, who lives on a mountain in Nepal with her mother, step father, and baby brother. Their family is poor, and they struggle to keep the roof on the house and their bellies fed, much because her step father gambles away their money. Lakshmi is sent to live in the city where she will work as a maid to help her family pay off their debt. However, it's not until she gets to the city that she is not working as a maid at all, her step father sold her to be a prostitute. The story follows Lakshmi through this difficult time and how she is able to endure and triumph.
Evaluation
I think this story is a good read for middle school students to learn about the difficulties of living in some other countries. It will give them an idea of how lucky they are to be in America, but will also help them sympathize and hopefully want to take action to help those in need who actually go through this.
Sold is written in a much different way than other novels in this blog. The book is written in a series of short vignettes for each chapter. She also has chapters that are just one sentence long, "After five days with no food and water I don't even dream (McCormick 113). Some chapters are simply poetic, and it is strange for readers to find such beautiful writing in a book about such a horrifying subject.
This book does a great job of staying away from stereotypes, as McCormick's books usually do. It portrays the culture and community in a country different from our own, and even shows how the people of Nepal see America, which may be stereotypical, however that is simply how they see us. The only stereotypical character I can imagine through the novel is her step-father. Often step-parents get a negative representation in media, and this book does the same. However, this is not necessarily just a stereotype in the novel, this is how daughters are actually treated in some other countries.
Sold is written in a much different way than other novels in this blog. The book is written in a series of short vignettes for each chapter. She also has chapters that are just one sentence long, "After five days with no food and water I don't even dream (McCormick 113). Some chapters are simply poetic, and it is strange for readers to find such beautiful writing in a book about such a horrifying subject.
This book does a great job of staying away from stereotypes, as McCormick's books usually do. It portrays the culture and community in a country different from our own, and even shows how the people of Nepal see America, which may be stereotypical, however that is simply how they see us. The only stereotypical character I can imagine through the novel is her step-father. Often step-parents get a negative representation in media, and this book does the same. However, this is not necessarily just a stereotype in the novel, this is how daughters are actually treated in some other countries.
Mini Lesson
For this book, rather than doing a mini lesson, I would have the students do a literature circle. I'd like them to be able to discuss the book in an open environment where I am also available to help with any difficult questions that may have rose and work though the horrors this book presents.
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