What a powerful, haunting story! Written in free verse from the perspective of a 13 year old Nepalese girl, who was sold from her mountain home to earn a living as a maid in the big city. Lakshmi was saddened to leave her mother and her baby brother, but she was eager to earn a living so she could send money back to her family for necessities like clothing, food, and a new tin roof, for which they were in desperate need. But when Lakshmi leaves, she is not taken to the big city to work as a maid, she is taken over the border into India where she is sold again to a brothel owner. The fact that this type of cruelty exists today is appalling to me. There were times when I was reading and I was thinking that this story took place years ago, and all the problems have, of course, been fixed by now. But then when the author mentions the fact that the girls watched The Bold and the Beautiful on tv every day, and the American who came to the brothel brought a digital camera, you realize that the time frame for the story is present day. The Author's Note at the end really brought to light the very real and current problem of sex trafficking in the world today. I remember seeing a Lifetime movie about sex trafficking in another country - cannot remember the name of the movie - but I remember being greatly affected by it. This book did the same thing for me. It was beautifully written - the vivid language brought this book to life, and the character descriptions and feelings were wrought so eloquently. I highly recommend this book - I cried for and cheered for Lakshmi - I cannot imagine what she and others like her must go through. Patricia McCormick captured this problem in real language that teenagers and adults will learn from and appreciate.