October 4th – 10th is Banned Books Week. For each day of Banned Books Week, TBR Books is featuring a banned book that we have available in our store. Today’s banned book is Sold by Patricia McCormick.
Sold
Written by Patricia McCormick and published in 2006, Sold is about an impoverished Nepalese girl who is trafficked and sold into prostitution in India. The book tackles the traumatic experience of human trafficking but also shows hope, friendship, and beauty. It is fairly short and written in verse, and it can help students understand a heavy and dark topic that affects children and adults around the world.
Sold was written for a young adult audience and has earned multiple awards, including the Gustav-Heinemann Peace Prize. It was a National Book Award Finalist. Despite the praise, Sold is near the top of the list for books challenged and banned in 2025.
In a Reader’s Digest interview, the author describes her confusion regarding the new wave of book bans and the conversations she has had with people and organizations who want to ban Sold. She also describes the positive impact her book has had on students who have gained empathy through reading the book or who have experienced trafficking themselves and have been able to speak out after reading.
At the end of Banned Books Week, you’ll be able to find all of this week’s book descriptions on the 2026 Banned Books Week page.
No AI was used in the making of this post, and all sources should be linked. Please let us know if anything is missing.
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