A powerful novel written in vignettes about a Nepalese girl who risks everything for a chance ro reclaim her life from the depths of childhood prostitution. Endorsed by Amnesty International UK this title was also a finalist for the US National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. This title is part of Walker Books’ 'New Voices'campaign which throughout 2008 is showcasing some of the brightest new storytelling talents in children’s literature. If, after reading this poignant, harrowing but utterly essential read, you'd like to do more to raise awareness of the global crisis in sexual slavery then please visit in the first instance the author's own website, www.pattymccormick.com, from which you'll find links to other useful sites.
A powerful novel written in vignettes about a a Nepalese girl who risks everything for a chance to reclaim her life.Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though they are desperately poor, Lakshmi's life is full of simple pleasures: playing hopscotch with her best friend, looking after her black-and-white speckled goat, having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when Lakshmi's family lose all that remains of their crops in a monsoon, her stepfather says she must leave home and take a job in the city. Lakshmi undertakes the long journey to India full of hope for her new life, proud to be able to earn, daring to hope that she will make enough money to make her mother proud too. Then she learns the unthinkable truth: for 10,000 rupees she has been sold into prostitution.
