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Patricia McCormick
Growing up in a small village in the Himalayas, Lakshmi has very simple dreams. She hopes someday she can go to town and work as a maid like her best friend to earn money for a tin roof for her home. She looks forward to marrying the shy sheep herding boy she is promised to. She wants to buy her mother a few nice things.
But her stepfather is a gambler, and when the family is seriously down on its luck, he arranges for her to go to the city with a lady who promises to send him her earnings. But these are simply lies to pry her away from her home, and into a life of child prostitution.
McCormick does a wonderful job of tackling this heartbreaking subject. Lakshmi is a smart girl, and we learn as she does the particulars of the harsh reality of life for girls trapped in this very real situation. McCormick traveled to India and interviewed girls and women, and has done an amazing job of bringing their stories to life. I hope this book inspires education and change where it is direly needed. Highly recommended for anyone with a heart.