Synopsis via Goodreads:
Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though she is desperately poor, her life is full of simple pleasures, like playing hopscotch with her best friend from school, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family’s crops, Lakshmi’s stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family.
He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at “Happiness House” full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution.
An old woman named Mumtaz rules the brothel with cruelty and cunning. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family’s debt—then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave.
Lakshmi’s life becomes a nightmare from which she cannot escape. Still, she lives by her mother’s words—Simply to endure is to triumph—and gradually, she forms friendships with the other girls that enable her to survive in this terrifying new world. Then the day comes when she must make a decision—will she risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life?
This book is hard-hitting from the very beginning. It's disturbing, but I couldn't help but want to read more and more. I almost finished it in one day. There were really only two things about the book that I did not like. First of all, it's written in free verse poetry. I have nothing against poetry. However, in the context of this story... I didn't get it. The writing itself was not particularly poetic and it just really didn't add anything to the story. It did, however, make it very quick and easy to read. The second thing about this book that annoyed me A LOT was the fact that it seems to suggest that Americans fix everything and that the United States is the greatest country in the world. ANNOYING. I was expecting it to be a little bit more about the triumph of the human spirit and whatnot, you know?
That being said, this book was pretty darn good and I would certainly read it again. Just keep in mind that it will make you cringe and that you're going to want to read the whole thing in one sitting.
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