Sold: 13-Year-Old Girl By Patricia Mccormick

Everyone knows the old saying ¨Never judge a book by its cover” but, sadly that is what every human does. Every human ever created has a story, whether the story is sad, happy, good or even bad, it makes them who they are. This often explains the reason why people may act a certain way. Patricia McCormick shows many examples of how people act based on their past, in her book SOLD. SOLD follows the life of a 13 year-old girl named Lakshmi, who is from a small village in Nepal. Sadly, Lakshmi does not come from a family with a lot of money, and has a stepfather who has a gambling problem, which is the exact reason Lakshmi gets sold into sex-trafficking. Lakshmi´s story is told through a Vignette style writing, which tells her story through shorts

But what confused most of the girls was that Shilpa did not have a debt to pay to their boss, Mumtaz, she was just doing it. But, they did not know her past, which was very similar to these girls reality. If they would have taken the time to know who Shilpa was and why she acted the way she did, they might have saw her in a different light.¨Her mother gave it… But now she likes it too much¨. (McCormick 172) Shilpa is acts the way she does because that is all she knows. Shilpa has been in the sex-trafficking scandal literally since she was a little girl. She knows every feeling these girls feel and every experience they have had. This is the exact reason she acts the way she does , because this life is all she knows. But that is not the only thing that shines light on who Shilpa really is. When Lakshmi goes to borrow money from Mumtaz, Shilpa makes a comment that sticks with Lakshmi. ¨When I told her… You actually believe what she tells you? ¨ (McCormick 234).Shilpa knows that Laksmi is trapped in the world of the sex-trafficking scandal, because she is just like Lakshmi, trapped. Shilpa shows this by trying sneakily tries to insult her enough to change her mind, because she knows how Mumtaz does her business. Shilpa is one of the many characters in this book who does the wrong things, but has a justifiable reason. The life Shilpa lives is the only one she knows, just like any other

It is when one truly looks into the lives of these people, where they see what makes them the way they are. People have many reasons on why they act a certain way, whether if they are like Monica, who had no choice and no other way to provide for her family. Or like Anita who had such a traumatic thing happen to them, and that is when pain and anger are the only responses they know. Or even like Shilpa who was raised the way she was, where the lifestyle she lives is the only one she knows. No one gets to choose the life they were born into, or the family and no one gets to choose what traumatic events happen to them, so why must one judge these people on the things they have no control over. If people were to take the time to know someone, they might be able to understand why this person acts the way they do instead of just judging them. ¨Never judge someone without knowing the whole story. You may think you understand but you