Sold by Patricia McCormick

Title: Sold

Author: Patricia McCormick

Publisher: Hyperion

Published Date: 2006

Lakshmi is a 13 year old girl from the hills of Nepal. Her family is poor. They do not wear shoes, they spin their own clothes and they sometimes go hungry for weeks. When a woman arrives at their house suggesting her mother and step-dad send her to the city to be a maid, Lakshmi jumps at the chance to work and send her family money. When she leaves with her “Auntie” the further out they get from home and the more cities they pass through the wearier Lakshmi becomes. She finally stops, after switching through two other people at The Happiness House. Here she learns what it means to be a woman, deceit and finally freedom.

My first thought to this is how in the world could a family sell their children? I know I’m not form this part and I have never known what it is like to be starving. To be that hungry and poor. I can’t even imagine. Another thing I can’t imagine…being sold to become a prostitute. These young girls do not get to have a childhood. And what makes it worse…are there really that many men that want to have sex with 12 or 13 year olds? The ending…I want to know more. How does she cope? Does she become successful? Does she have a family of her own? Ahhh…tell me more!

Happy Reading!

R

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales

Title: The Tequila Worm

Author: Viola Canales

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books

Published Date: 2005

Sofia is of Mexican American decent. She lives in a small barrio in southern Texas. Even though the family has lived in American for generations, they still hold their Mexican traditions. Sofia is an average teenager. Second guessing who she is, who she wants to be and who outsiders see her as. Growing up with a different culture than those around her is hard. She is always asking why she has to be different. It isn’t until she goes to a boarding school that she realizes that what she has is everything she could ever want.

Loved this story. There is so much Mexican culture detailed in this story that I would have never known about on my own. Yet, this story could have been my life. Every child feels like they are somehow different from everyone else. To be placed in an area where your family’s culture is different as well, makes growing up that much harder.

Found this graphic that I thought was awesome!

 

 

Happy Reading!

R

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Title: American Born Chinese

Author: Gene Luen Yang

Color: Lark Pien

Publisher: First Second

Published Date: 2006

This graphic novel intertwines three separate tales. The first tale is about the Monkey King. The second about Jin Wang. And the third about Danny. The Monkey King thinks he is ruler of the world. He should be allowed into heaven because he is so great. When he is denied entry into heaven as a god because he is a monkey, he throws a huge fit. Jin Wang was born in American and thinks of himself as an American, but the kids at school only see him as an Asian. His teachers don’t even know the difference. Danny is a normal teenager, except for one aspect of his life. Every year his Chinese “cousin” comes for a visit. The cousin makes so much trouble for him he always has to change schools. Each story has the same moral. Not to be ashamed of who you are and that being yourself makes you a stronger person.

I won’t give away the ending to this one. I won’t tell you how the stories intertwine. But I will say that it took me a mintue to figure out what was going on and how they all related. They do, I promise. This read just like a proverb or fable. Graphic novels are not really my thing, but this is very well done. Very thought provoking. And the medium of graphic novel is much more conducive of younger people to read it.

Happy Reading!

R