Book Talk: Sold by Patricia McCormick

1. Sold by Patricia McCormick is a story of a young girl named Lakshmi from Nepal who is sold into the Indian sex slave industry by her stepfather. The story follows her throughout a brief portion of her childhood before she is sold and throughout her youthful naiveite about the horrors of the world around her. The book is formatted as a sort of journal entry style rather than chapters. These entries range from experiences Lakshmi has had with her “customers” while working as a sex slave to encounters with other prostitutes and her boss. While the horrific events are not graphically described, the emotion in this book is so raw that hinting at what is occurring is enough to bring the reader to a sad realization of the events. This book allows readers to see inside Lakshmi’s mind as a young girl grown up too fast while dealing with the surreal evil that is the child sex slave industry. While this story is a fictional one in the details of the events it is all too much of a reality for so many young girls living in India and the surrounding areas. Sold offers brief glimpses of South East Asian culture as well as into the sex slave industry with enough personal detail to make it relevant and important to the reader on a personal level.

2. The reason that I chose this text was mainly because of the personal impact it had on me when I read it. I believe that when you are teaching, and you can make it your choice you should do so. In a profession that requires so much from a person it is imperative that you pick things that you connect with in order to help you connect with your students. I also think that it is important as teachers to introduce difficult texts to your students in a safe environment so that they will be more prepared when presented with similar instances in the “real world”. My student target with this text would probably be 8th or 9th grade. It is a fairly easy read in terms of language, but the topic is heavier than I think most middle schoolers, or their parents and administration, would be able to handle in a classroom. The story is about a girl who is 12-13 years old and I think, for it to make the most impact, having students who are close to that age would be beneficial. That being said, I think that with the depth and complexity of the issues discussed in this book the majority of students younger than 8th grade would probably not benefit from this text as much.

3. This book is a heavy subject and should not be handled lightly. One way this could be managed while minimizing a triggering situation that could come up in discussion would be first by having the students analyze and write about the text that way you as the teacher can see how the students have processed the text and where to go from there. When I read this text, we did a silent discussion where you write a question on a page and pass the page along. From here you have an opportunity to either respond to the question, respond to another student’s response, and/or ask another question. The questions and discussions could be about a specific passage of text or a question about the story as a whole. Another way to incorporate this text into classroom use is have the students engage in a small group discussion in which they get to chose what group they are in. This way the students are in a group that they feel relatively comfortable with but also get to vocalize their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about the subject while not having the pressure of talking to the whole class.

4. This text is a topic that will be very difficult to talk about and may trigger very intense reactions from some students. The very real issue of using this text is that it may remind a student of a very personal and traumatic event that occurred. I would not suggest simply throwing this book into the mix of assignments right off the bat but rather wait until you better get to know your students to see if this book is appropriate for that particular class. Administration can be very wary when it comes to incorporating difficult and potentially triggering subjects into the class room and the same is true for many parents. Hesitation and even outright opposition could be expected from both parties. I believe, however, that if you allow the parent to be involved or at least just very aware of the topics of discussion and the reasoning behind why you are teaching them it will be fairly easy to gain favor to teach such a difficult topic.

5. Sold is a text that portrays an under-discussed issue that we have in both our national and global society. I think it is important to remind students that, while this text might be portraying the sex slave industry in one particular culture does not mean that it is the only culture that faces this issue. Presenting this fact, not in a way that scares them but rather informs them about the world around them, can be extremely beneficial for their future.