Book reviews

Why it’s important to read SOLD, one of 2024’s most challenged books

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

I’ve never traveled to Nepal. Never scraped out an existence on the slopes of the Himalayas. I have never, thank God, been duped into forced labor or prostitution. But Patricia McCormick’s 2006 YA novel SOLD helped me understand what all of that might feel like. SOLD broke my heart and spurred empathy for the thousands of Nepalese girls sold into prostitution each year. It also forced me to think more deeply about the victims of human trafficking in my own country. Of young girls who suffered at the hands of men like Jeffrey Epstein and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

According to the VCU Capital News Service, human trafficking cases are increasing in my home state of Virginia. On the national level, we’ve had to grapple with reality of human trafficking as details about the Epstein and Combs cases continue to pop up in the media. In this season, people need to read stories like SOLD and learn more about the problem of human trafficking. Unfortunately, according to the American Library Association, SOLD was one of the most banned or challenged books of 2024. People can’t learn about human trafficking if organizations succeed in censoring literature about it.

Welcome to Banned Books Week, an annual event sponsored by the American Library Association and the Banned Books Week Coalition to bring awareness to the importance of keeping free access to books and literature.  Each year I choose a banned book to read and review to share the value of story and the danger of censorship. This year’s novel is SOLD.

Premise

SOLD by Patricia McCormick tells the story of Lakshmi, a 13-year-old girl who lives in the mountains of Nepal with her mother, infant brother, and stepfather. When poverty paired with her step-father’s gambling habit threatens to ruin her family, Lakshmi agrees to find work in the city to earn money.

Led by a glamorous stranger in a “yellow cloud dress” and a man Lakshmi calls “Uncle Husband,” the young girl travels far from home to the strange sights, sounds, and smells of the city. After she arrives at the ironically named “Happiness House,” Lakshmi faces starvation and cruel beatings at the hands of Mumtaz, a fat old woman who runs the place. Slowly, and with horror, Lakshmi realizes she’s powerless to leave “Happiness House” or escape the men who visit her nightly.

What I liked

SOLD was a National Book Award Finalist, and no wonder. The writing is sparse, but powerful. The chapters are quick vignettes, sometimes only a few paragraphs long, but their brevity cuts to the heart. At one point late in the story, Lakshmi observes,

“Mumtaz is a monster, I tell myself. Only a monster could do what she does to innocent girls. But I wonder. If the crying of a young girl is the same to me as the bleating of the horns in the street below, what have I become?”

While the setting and story are bleak, bright spots shine through the dark. Despite her dire circumstances, Lakshmi finds friends and connection. McCormick shows us not just the worst of human nature, but also the best. And in the end, Lakshmi triumphs.

The dark aspects of sexual slavery are described with taste and discretion. The reader clearly understands what is happening to Lakshmi, but the focus is on her response, not the deeds themselves. McCormick tackles a difficult subject delicately.

What I didn’t like

Based on the subject, SOLD was not necessarily something I wanted to settle in with before bed. But it’s short, and the understanding and empathy it generates make SOLD a worthwhile read.

Recommendation

Last May, I was shocked to realize that high school cosmetology students at our county vocational school get certified in human trafficking recognition. With research, I discovered that some secondary school divisions in Virginia offer human trafficking curriculum for all secondary students. And a 2023 law mandates that public universities and colleges in Virginia include a trauma-informed human trafficking training for all first-year students. Young adults and college students, as well as teen runaways, are particularly vulnerable to human traffickers. They need more information and discussion about the issue, not less, and a book like SOLD will only help them understand the problem. Adults also need to appreciate the gravity of the issue, and how innocent young people find themselves lured into a life of slavery. SOLD should remain in our school and public libraries for those who choose to read it.

Learn more about other Banned Books

When you hear about a book being banned, read it and decide for yourself if its message and theme are more important than potentially offensive material. For other Banned Books reviewed here on my site, visit:

Also, for the most up to date information about book banning as of October 2025, check out these articles:

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Improving vocabulary

Democracy 101: what you need to know about liberal democracy

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When I attended church as a child, and the congregation recited the Apostle’s Creed, my mother always omitted the word “catholic.” Everyone around us said, “I believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church,” but Mom subbed in “Christian” for “catholic.” Her issue with the Roman Catholic Church stemmed from her childhood, when her father had a kerfuffle with the church over CCD attendance requirements and confirmation. Grandpa Willoughby ended up pulling everyone out of Catholic Church, and Mom acquired a distaste for all things Catholic. (Note the big C).

What Mom didn’t realize, or didn’t care about, was that the Apostle’s Creed uses “little c” catholic, which means “comprehensive or universal,” according to Merriam-Webster.

Along similar lines, I’m concerned that these days, as we hear talk about the United States being a “liberal democracy,” people might assume, and dare I say bristle at the notion, that the liberal in this term refers to “Big L” Liberal. As in, left leaning politics. That is not necessarily the case. Let’s be civically engaged citizens and clarify what this political term means.

According to Britannica, the idea of liberal democracy came about as a reaction to historical events of the 18th Century, including the European Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions. Philosophers and politicians sought a form of government which upheld individual rights and allowed the people to rule themselves with limited state interference. The terms liberal and democracy existed separately before the revolutionary movements of the late 1700s.

Liberalism started with the 17th century philosopher John Locke during the Enlightenment. Locke proposed that every person had the natural right to life, liberty, and property. From Locke came the idea that government should function for the benefit of the people and according to their will.

The principles of democracy have a much older history. Records of a democratic government are found as far back as sixth century Greece. A political reformer in Athens started a new type of government called demokratia, meaning “rule of the people.” Much later, in 1215, the people of England embraced democratic ideals through the signing of the Magna Carta, a document that forced British monarchs to comply with written laws. But true democracy didn’t gain a foothold until the American Revolution.

After the United States gained independence from England, the Founding Fathers combined the principles of liberalism and democracy to form a unique government framework: a liberal democracy. This type of government incorporates several key principles.

First, plurality and tolerance are valued. This means power is dispersed among diverse groups and opposing political positions are accepted. Second, a liberal democracy uses a written constitution to resolve disagreements and maintain the rule of law. Third, such a democracy establishes a separation of powers between branches of government to prevent one branch from gaining dominance. Finally, a liberal democracy protects the civil rights of all individuals and allows the people choose (read: vote on) who will serve in government.

Now that we know a little more about what a liberal democracy should look like, we can better evaluate how well its principals show up in our current climate. If you are like me, you have concerns. But rather than becoming confused or discouraged, we must seek to understand current events in light of our country’s history This will give us a better perspective on how our government works and what we should demand as citizens of a liberal democracy. We the people must stay engaged, to protect not only our own rights and interests, but also the framework and values of this experiment in democracy that our Founders envisioned 250 years ago. I hope you will join me in that effort.

If you’d like to learn more political terms, check out my posts on:

Is there another political or historical term you’d like to share or learn more about? Tell me in the comments.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Book reviews

Dive into the secrets of Generations: what I learned from the book

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When I was in my late 20s, and my grandmother was in her 80s, she said to me, “I just don’t understand the world anymore.” Born in 1914 and “a child of the depression,” she’d seen more change than she could process. Now, as a 54-year-old watching my children communicate with each other in a language of memes and videos, I think, “Oma, I understand what you meant!” What seems basic and normal to my kids often feels strange to me. Generational differences are real!

However, I value connection, so I believe that making the effort to understand those differences will improve my relationships. That’s why I’m glad my friend Michele recommended the non-fiction book Generations by Jean M. Twenge.  Generations helped me understand why I, a Gen X woman, perceive the world differently than my in-laws, who are Silents, and my children of Gen Z. Twenge’s observations have opened the door to productive discussions and considerations that might make this year’s Thanksgiving family gathering more enjoyable. 

The premise

In Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America’s Future, psychologist Jean M Twenge presents exhaustive data about the six generations currently alive in the United States. Twenge reviews basic statistics about each generation, highlights important people and historical events, and attempts to draw conclusions about why members of each generation have different beliefs and behaviors. I found her insights compelling.

What I liked

While Twenge acknowledges that one should use generalizations with caution, she bases her assumptions on research and data. Her presentation of Generation X, my generation, felt accurate and on point. I could relate to most of what she said, and it also helped me understand why my parents saw the world the way they did and why my children perceive it from a vastly changed perspective. Based on her research, Twenge argues that technological changes and the rise in individualism have had greater impact on the differences between the generations than historical events.

Twenge asserts that technology and rising individualism have affected confidence and trust within American society over the past several decades. Here is a definition of individualism vs. collectivism from the website VeryWell Mind: Collectivism stresses the importance of the community and places great value on unity, selflessness, and altruism. Individualism focuses on individual rights and concerns, independence, and personal identity.

Twenge suggests that while individualism has had some positive effects on our culture, it has worsened polarization in our country. She suggests that the rise of individualism (the idea that the self is more important than the community) contributes to misinformation and public health concerns like mask refusal and vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic of 2020. In her chapter on Generation X, she says:

Individualism is one reason why eroding trust has led to such dark places for some Americans across all generations, not just among Gen X. Individualism creates the idea that one person’s view is just as good as another’s, despite differences in expertise.

What I didn’t like 

I listened to the audio recording of Generations, which works well for me with non-fiction books. It’s like listening to a podcast, which I do often. However, Twenge frequently refers to data charts, so the phrase “See table ___ in the accompanying PDF” frequently interrupted the flow of the book. This is good for accountability, but bad for listening. Sometimes the chapters felt long or repetitive, and I thought she could have been more concise with her data and observations. Finally, I listened with a healthy dose of skepticism, as it’s never a good idea to make broad assumptions about large groups of people.

Recommendation

Reading Generations helped me understand why people in my community might view the world differently than I do. Or why my in-laws vote the way they do. I believe anything that increases empathy and understanding is a worthwhile read. If you agree, and you enjoy non-fiction, give Generations a try.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Improving vocabulary

From the headlines: What you need to know about gerrymandering

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

On August 20, the Texas State House of Representatives voted to approve a new congressional map. This map would change the US Congressional voting districts throughout the state of Texas and could give the Republican Party wins in five more districts than the previous map. Which could give Republicans five more seats in the House of Representatives in Washington during the 2026 midterm elections. As you have surely heard by now, this practice of redrawing maps to favor one political party over another is called gerrymandering. We should all pay attention to the actions of political parties and how they affect our ability to vote and participate in democratic activities. This Word Nerd also wanted to learn where this ridiculous sounding term originated.

Cue the research!

According to Merriam-Webster, the term Gerrymandering came about in the 1700s, thanks to a man named Elbridge Gerry. He was an active politician of the 18th century. Gerry’s contributions to our country include signing the Declaration of Independence, serving as Governor of Massachusetts, and serving as Vice President of the US under James Madison. While acting as MA Governor, Gerry tried to change the shape of voting districts to give an advantage to his own party. These districts had unusual shapes, particularly Gerry’s own district, which resembled a newt (a type of salamander). When Gerry’s district map was presented to law makers, members of the opposing party noted the newt-like shape and chanted “Gerrymander!” The name stuck. So did the practice of rigging voting districts.

Our state voting districts were developed to empower citizens to elect law making bodies that accurately represent the interests of all communities. Traditionally, these maps are evaluated every ten years, at the turn of the decade after the national census, to determine if shifts in population require new maps, or redistricting.  The practice of gerrymandering, used by both political parties, interferes with this important democratic process.

Michael Li, of the Brennan Center for Justice, puts it this way:

Elections are supposed to produce results that reflect the preferences of voters. But when maps are gerrymandered, politicians and the powerful choose voters instead of voters choosing politicians.

Gerrymandering has always plagued American politics, but we are hearing more about it these days, and it’s not because of Texas. In 2019, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandered maps cannot be challenged in federal court. This leaves room for all political parties to leverage power in their favor. I was relieved to learn recently that as a citizen of Virginia, I shouldn’t have to worry about gerrymandering in my state. In 2020, Virginians voted to approve a Virginia Constitutional amendment to have district maps approved by a bipartisan commission. When that commission deadlocked, the issue was turned over to the Virginia Supreme Court. So, in theory, Virginia’s voting districts will continue to be based on impartial guidelines, like population, and not on political will. At least for now.

Do you know what laws, if any, exist regarding gerrymandering in your state? I encourage you to find out! Voters should choose politicians, not the other way around!

If you have thoughts about gerrymandering, or would like to discuss another political term, please share in the comments! You can learn more about gerrymandering here:

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Who I Am

One powerful lesson from Van Gogh’s legacy

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 2 Comments

What do I have in common with the great impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh? Besides Dutch heritage and a love of color? Something very essential to human existence: needing people.

My late father’s favorite mug.

Last month, I took a trip with my entire family to the Netherlands, the country where my father grew up. We stayed in my father’s hometown, lovely little Heemstede, 21 miles west of Amsterdam. For nearly a week, we marveled at flowers and biked like the locals to the beach at Zandvoort, the ruins of Brederode Castle, and the grocery store. We practiced our Dutch, with varying success, and gathered around the dining room table of our rental home to share meals together.

I knew the trip would be important for our family. As the kids get older, it will be harder and harder to pull our entire gang, plus significant others, together. I relished the opportunity to spend time together and learn new things as a group. And while one of my trip “must dos” was a visit to The Van Gogh Museum in nearby Amsterdam, I could not predict how relevant and meaningful the museum visit would be to our trip.

Vincent’s family

I’ve long held Van Gogh as my favorite artist. I love his use of color and his broad, chunky strokes. His floral still lifes and majestic landscapes interpret nature with a reverence and awe that always inspire my joy.

Colour expresses something in itself.

Vincent Van Gogh

We did NOT bike to Amsterdam – way too much traffic and chaos for that – but once we arrived and stored our snacks and water bottles in the free lockers, we explored a temporary exhibit on the first floor, “Choosing Vincent.”

The exhibition Choosing Vincent: Portrait of a Family History is telling a personal story of doubt, setbacks, pride, and triumph.

The Van Gogh Museum

How did Van Gogh become a world famous artist? Simply put, he could not have done it without his family. Vincent and his brother Theo were very close, and Theo supported Vincent financially and emotionally for years. As a young adult, Vincent struggled to find a vocation that was meaningful to him. Theo gave Vincent the money and physical and emotional space he needed to paint. Even when living with Vincent was hard, and he considered leaving, Theo ultimately chose to stay and support his brother.  After Vincent and Theo’s untimely deaths, they both died young, Theo’s widow Jo vowed to protect the collection of Vincent’s paintings and preserve his legacy. Later, when Jo died, her son Vincent (named after his artist uncle) carried on Van Gogh’s legacy.

Vincent the nephew pursued engineering as a profession and got some space from his uncle’s fame, but ultimately, he recognized the value of his uncle’s work. In the early 20th century, Vincent planned and oversaw the building of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Vincent Van Gogh became famous and continues to be admired today not just because of his artistic vision and talent, but also because of the efforts of his brother, sister in law, and nephew. He would not hold the space in our cultural narrative without the actions of those family members, and his family continues to protect his legacy with involvement in the museum.

Van Gogh’s story is an excellent example of how we need each other.

Amsterdam
The ruins of Brederode

My family

My visit to my father’s hometown was all the more special because I got to meet a relative there. The day after visiting The Van Gogh Museum, we spent the day in Heemstede with my second cousin, Karel. His mother and my father were first cousins, and I’d heard my father mention him and his parents many times. When I knew I’d be visiting the Netherlands, I reached out to Karel because we are friends on Facebook. [Here is one way Facebook can do good things. Read my piece on another way… also about a cousin of mine, from my mom’s side of the family.]

I love a binder full of notes!

Karel, a former teacher, has spent lots of time collecting information about our family. The morning of our visit, he pulled out a binder with notes neatly tucked in page protectors – making me think that my propensity for organization and thoroughness is a family trait! He had researched buildings, locations, and personal histories and put together an informative tour. We spent hours walking around Heemstede. Karel and his wife showed us the apartment where my father lived with his mother after the war, some of the buildings that our great grandfather built, including the Town Hall, and Groenendaal Park, where my father played as a child. Sometimes Karel would pause and point to the bricks of a walkway – “Wouter must have walked along this path many times.”

Gathering near the Town Hall that my great grandfather Van Amstel built.

My father had another cousin, Tineke, who came to visit us in the US a few times. She passed away in 2006. Because she was no longer married and had no children, Karel and his wife Ellen took up the burden of settling her affairs and cleaning out her Amsterdam apartment. Because Karel had cleaned out the apartment, he was able to present me with two special gifts. One was a pendant featuring a picture of my grandmother and her twin on one side, and a pressed four leaf clover on the other. The other treasure was a gold medallion, presented by the Dutch government to my paternal great grandfather for his service to as a vet for army horses during the war. Such special mementos of our family history brought tears to my eyes.

At the end of the day, Karel solemnly said, “I’m so glad we got to meet, and I don’t know if we will ever again, but sharing this information about our family is important. I am an only child, your father was an only child, our only other living cousin is an only child. We need to remember our history.” Cue the water works!

My children and I hung on every word Karel shared, and a few of us have already decided to go back to the Netherlands to visit him again. Some of us plan to continue studying Dutch. We don’t want our family history to fade.

Our time with Karel and the stories he shared reinforced the lesson from the day before.

We need each other.

How have you made time to connect with people lately? I’d love to hear about it!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Book reviews

What you need to know about E Lockhart’s upcoming YA release, We Fell Apart

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 1 Comment

Note: We Fell Apart is a book in the We Were Liars series, but it merely occurs in the same setting. It does not need to be read before or after other books in the series. You can read my review of We Were Liars here.

Premise

Recent high school graduate Matilda Klein is lost. When her mother decides to take off to Mexico to follow yet another new lover, Matilda stays in California and lives with her mother’s ex so she can finish high school. Communication with her mom is limited and short. After graduation, Matilda’s long time boyfriend -the only person who understands her- dumps her because she’s too weird and absorbed in her video game building. She’s never known her father, but it turns out he’s a famous artist, the elusive Kingsley Cello. Right when Matilda feels she has no where to go, she gets a mysterious email from her father, inviting her to visit him at his castle on Martha’s Vineyard.

Eager to learn more about her father, Matilda embarks on an adventure to the east coast. When she arrives at his castle home, he’s not there, but she stays, hopefully awaiting his return, and befriending the people she finds in the castle. Vermeer, nickname Meer, the half brother she didn’t know she had, his mother, June, and two adopted boys, Brock, a former TV star recovering from drug addiction and Tatum, whose parents died in a tragic car accident.

What I liked

In We Fell Apart, Lockhart explores themes of family – what constitutes a family, how are members responsible to one another, and if it’s possible to leave a family. Throughout the novel, Matilda struggles with the meaning of family and how she wants to participate in one. As a young adult, she bounces between the lines of protecting and prohibiting, loving and controlling, very relevant issues for any YA novel. We Fell Apart tackles issues of illness, loss, and healing with nuance and care.

Matilda makes some keen observations about family. Of one relative she says,

“We will always have our blood tie. But blood ties are just what you make of them.”

And later,

“I’m conscious of the drops of blood that tie us all together, but that’s not enough to make a family. It takes some effort.”

Matilda sets off on her journey with a clear goal – find and know her father, and have him know her. Ultimately, she might not get what she wants, but she does get things that she needs, including a better understanding of herself and her relationship to others. The novel felt particularly relevant to me, as I read it while on a trip to Europe to learn more about my own father, who died four years ago.

Some of the characters in We Fell Apart find a bit of romance amidst the adventure, which is always fun.

What I didn’t like

The writing style of We Fell Apart focused heavily on Matilda’s interior. I would have liked more details of the setting and the other characters to ground me in the story. I had a hard time for most of the book differentiating between some of the characters, especially Tatum and Brock. I could not picture Matilda’s father’s house, described as a castle, or the layout of the property, which is a shame, since it’s an unusual setting.

The plot has mysterious elements, and some people refer to it as a mystery, but that aspect didn’t stand out to me. There is a satisfying explanation at the end.

The writing did not consistently pull me in, and I didn’t feel connected to the main characters until the end. Matilda often resorts to asking theoretical questions, which to me feels like cheating. In general, I didn’t like the writing as much I did for We Were Liars or The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.

Recommendation

We Fell Apart is a solid YA coming of age story, with a quiet mystery and a little bit of romance, kind of like what John Green does in Turtles All the Way Down. It’s not my favorite of Lockhart’s, but it isn’t bad.

I haven’t yet read the second book in the We Were Liars series, Family of Liars. Have you? What did you think?

Note: We Were Liars TV series dropped on Prime summer 2025. I won’t watch tho. The book is always better than the show. 😉

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!