Lakshmi, a thirteen year old girl, lives in country with her Ama, baby brother, and stepfather. Everyone in her little village has a tin roof, that is except for Lakshmi, whose stepfather spends everyday gambling and not working because he believes that he is too disabled to work (which he is not). Even though she is dirt poor, she still can enjoy small, innocent pleasures; for example, playing hopscotch with a school friend. Lakshmi is favored by her mother, but not necessarily by her stepfather. She says that when he looks at her, it seems like he’s thinking, If she would work in the city as a maid, I could get cigarettes, rice beer, and a new vest for myself. But when Lakshmi looks at herself, she believes that if she was able to work in the city she would be able to give her family the tin roof that they always wish they had.
Then, one day, Lakshmi is told that she will be working in the city. Although she believes that she will be working as a maid, she is not told how long or what she will be doing. Her “Auntie”, the person that she was sold to (even though she has no idea that she has been sold) brings her to the city in India and she is traded to someone she must call “Uncle Husband”. Finally, she arrives in the place she will be working, and is sent up to a room. The next day, she figures out that she has been sold into prostitution, and from then on, it just gets worse…
Patricia McCormick paints a picture in your mind when you read this book. She explains what it’s like to be poor, and have to trick yourself into thinking you’re not starving, and how it feels when you realize that your family abandoned you and, worse yet, sold you into a dirty, terrible trade. But, mostly, she explains how you have to have hope when things are looking down.
P.S. This book includes inappropriate content and you should consult a parent/guardian before reading this book.