Jenna Daniels

ESE 422-001
September 29, 2015
Sold Unit
Sold by Patricia McCormick is a young adult novel about Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old
girl from the mountains in Nepal. Lakshmi comes from a poor family whose welfare is
dependent on the weather and her gambling step-father. Since the family is struggling, Lakshmi
is sold by her step-father to work as a maid in the city. After a very long and confusing
journey, Lakshmi finds herself forced into prostitution in India to pay off her debt which she cost
Mumtaz. With almost no hope left, Lakshmi finds comfort in the few friends she has while in the
brothel and through her plans to get out. Lakshmi remains strong and finds hope in the middle of
her circumstances.
This novel contains some very mature content. Prostitution, drugs, rape, slavery, and the
mistreatment of women in general are central in this story. While some may not see why this
should be taught, there is definitely merit to this novel. First, it is a National Book Award
Finalist, but it also is important because of its ability to resonate with students. The protagonist is
a thirteen-year-old girl, while I probably would not teach it to 8th grade students, the closeness in
age to your students will make this story more real to them. Apart from that, the author spoke
with real victims and survivors in order to write this novel. The hope is that this novel can make
students realize the gravity of this situation. It should upset them, get them talking, and make
them concerned about resolutions to this issue.
I found this novel to be both heartbreaking and hopeful. We are given this tale of a child
who is treated so horribly, yet we find laughter, hope, and joy in the story through her. It is a
story that opens our eyes to the truth that millions of girls in the world, which we often do not

Jenna Daniels
ESE 422-001
September 29, 2015
recognize, live through at this very moment. This is all wrapped in the layout of the novel which
often flows like poetry. Each segment of the novel, which can be referred to as a vignette, makes
it a quick and easy read. It is a story of survival that can inspire us and will stick with us after we
are done. Teaching this book in Alabama might be difficult, depending on your school. I would
love to be able to teach a novel that is so raw and thought-provoking, but the sexual content and
language describing brutal scenes could lead to this novel being challenged. If I was ever given
the opportunity to teach this novel, it would definitely be for upper level classmen.

Major Themes:
1. Loss of innocence: The little girl that started the novel on the mountain is far different
from the Lakshmi we end up with. She essentially left her innocence on the mountain in
Nepal with her family. The important thing to recognize and discuss is how through this
loss, she also gains strength.
2. Human resilience: Lakshmi endures more suffering that what many of your students will
be able to comprehend, but in the time of greatest struggle, humans can find
extraordinary means to cope. Her plans for the future help her survive this horrible time.
3. Slavery: Obviously, slavery is a major theme in this novel. Most likely this form of
slavery will not be the most well-known to your students.
4. The importance of friendships: Lakshmi endures her time in the brothel with the help
from the kindness of her new friends. Shahanna and Anita both help her adjust in the
brothel, Harish helps her have something to look forward to by teaching her to read speak
the language, and the American man gives her hope of being rescued. It is important to
recognize the characters that helped Lakshmi survive.

Jenna Daniels
ESE 422-001
September 29, 2015

Important Topics to Address:

1. Human trafficking:
This topic is the whole reason to teach this book, in my opinion. It can be used to bring
awareness to a subject that is not often discussed. Not only can one use a documentary or
articles about human trafficking in Nepal or India, but this subject can also be made
relevant to your students by discussing or having them research its significance in
America. Very few realized the common instances of human trafficking in our own
country.
2. Poverty and culture in Nepal/India:
The culture and poverty of a third world country are also important things to look at and
discuss. Contrasting this to American culture and using examples from the book can help
students to connect the ideas. For example, the TV shows they watch from America
depict a wealthier world where the women have big, happy weddings and people ride
white horses.

Assessments:
1. Vocabulary: For this novel, there are words that I would pick out before so that students
will have the prior knowledge necessary to comprehend the text before beginning to read.
2. Questioning: This novel will raise many questions from your students, but asking them
questions that will lead to discussion of the important topics is also important. This can
include asking them to look at the irony in the novel, such as the name of the brothel

Jenna Daniels
ESE 422-001
September 29, 2015
being the Happiness House. You can also ask them to look deaper into the titles of the
individual vignettes to find deeper meaning.
3. Essay: Writing an essay on this novel would be a great way to assess whether students
can not only understand the basic plot, but also connect the bigger ideas.
4. Project: A creative project or even writing assignment would be beneficial for this novel

as well. Students could be asked to write this story from a different point of view, such as
Lakshmis mother or even Harish, the boy who grew up in the brothel. This would allow
the students to consider the ways human trafficking affects the different people who are
involved.