Banned Books Week wraps up today with Let Freedom Read Day. Today, we’re all encouraged to take at least one action to fight back against censorship. Read on for my review of Sold, one of the most frequently banned books.

If you missed Sunday’s post about Banned Books Week, you’ll find it here. Reading a banned or restricted book is one of the best ways to observe Banned Books Week and Let Freedom Read Day. This week, I committed to doing just that.

Book review – Sold by Patricia McCormick

I chose this book because it appears on both the US and UK lists of banned and challenged books. Almost 20 years after Patricia McCormick published it, this young adult fiction novel had the dubious honour of being the most banned book in the USA in 2025. After reading it, I have to wonder why.

Synopsis

When harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of her family’s crops, 13-year-old Lakshmi is forced to leave home.

Lakshmi’s stepfather, whose gambling contributed significantly to her family’s plight, leaves her in the care of an “auntie” who then hands her off to an “uncle” who escorts her from Nepal to India. Lakshmi believes she will work as a maid for a wealthy woman in the city. She willingly accepts the opportunity to relieve her family’s burden by earning some money she can send back to her family.

Leaving behind her family, Lakshmi carries a small bundle with only a bowl, a hairbrush, the notebook her teacher gave her for being the number one girl in school, and her bedroll.

Inside my head I carry:

my baby goat,

my baby brother,

my ama’s face,

our family’s future.

My bundle is light.

My burden is heavy.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

When she arrives in India, Lakshmi realizes her stepfather has sold her into prostitution. She originally fights back, but her captors drug and beat her until she submits. They tell her she will be free to leave after her debt has been repaid. She later learns the debt grows with every passing day, and it will never be repaid.

Over time, Lakshmi learns to detach from what’s happening to her:

Sometimes, I pretend that what goes on at night when the customers are here is not something that is happening to me. I pretend it is a TV show that I am watching from far, far away. I pretend I have a button I press to make everything go quiet. And another one that makes me disappear.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Ultimately, this is a tale of resilience and survival. We learn the stories of the other women in the brothel, many of whom have children living there with them. Lakshmi forms friendships with the other women, but those friendships are fleeting. The women are banished when they become ill and are no longer able to make money for their captors.

Why this book matters

Sold brings attention to the important issue of sex trafficking and the plight of poor women in countries like Nepal.

The statistics are starting. At the end of the book, McCormick reports nearly 12,000 Nepali girls are sold intentionally or unwittingly by their families each year. These girls are forced into a life of sexual slavery in the brothels of India.

Sadly, sex trafficking is a serious issue in many countries, including Canada. Worldwide, the U.S. State Department estimates nearly half a million children are trafficked into the sex trade annually. They could be our daughters, sisters, nieces, neighbours and granddaughters.

Why ban a book like this?

After reading Sold, I failed to see why anyone would find it objectionable enough to ban it. The main argument is that the book is sexually explicit. The book does contain details of what Lakshmi experienced. Her first sexual encounter with a customer is told from the point of view of a 13-year old girl. It is far from pornographic.

This article from Reader’s Digest features an interview with the author, Patricia McCormick. It offers additional insight into why this book is the target of censorship.

A special interest group, ironically named Moms for Liberty, targeted this book because of the one page that describes Lakshmi having her first sexual encounter against her will. The argument is that exposing children to this type of content robs them of their innocence.

The most bewildering argument of all is that the scenes depicting unpleasant sexual experiences for young girls will make them gay. This is quite possibly one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.

One of McCormick’s goals in writing the book was to bring the conversation around sex trafficking out into the open. Sweeping these issues under the rug and avoiding conversations is exactly why a viper like Jeffrey Epstein and his rich cronies were able to get away with what they did for so many years.

Keep the conversation going beyond Let Freedom Read Day

We clearly need to do better and consider books on their overall literary and educational merit, rather than shy away from difficult topics and conversations.

On Let Freedom Read Day and beyond, let’s speak out against censorship and book banning.

To support this cause, reading a banned or restricted book is a great place to start. You’ll find links to book suggestions in What will you read for Banned Books Week?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic of book banning. Drop me a comment below to let me know.