⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5) Eve J. Chung’s Daughters of Shandong is a powerful debut inspired by her grandmother’s real-life escape from Communist China. It follows teenaged Hai, her mother, and sisters after they’re abandoned by Hai’s father during the civil war. The women face violence, hunger, and betrayal on their harrowing journey from Shandong to Taiwan. Chung nails the setting and stakes, giving readers a vivid, emotional ride. Hai is a strong narrator—young, naive, and surprisingly resilient. I had a hard time putting the book down. Chung brings urgency and heart to the page, especially in scenes of political persecution and gender injustice. The themes of survival and sisterhood pack a punch, and the author’s […]
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A Tale of Resilience and Betrayal in 19th-Century China
1800s China. Tightly bound feet, or “golden lilies, are the mark of an honorable woman, eclipsing beauty, a rich dowry, and even bloodline in the marriage stakes. When her mother sells Little Flower into slavery as a maidservant—a muizai—to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that one day her golden lilies will lead her out of slavery. Not only does Little Flower have bound feet, uncommon for a muizai, but she is extraordinarily gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with the highest class of a lady. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to thwart Little Flower’s escape. But when […]
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A Gripping Tale of Survival and Courage on America’s Railroads
Tam Ling Fan, a young woman who grew up in 1860s China, lived in comfort thanks to her father’s wealth. Unlike most girls of her status, her father spares her from painful foot-binding. However, her life takes a tragic turn when her brother dies of influenza and authorities falsely imprison her father. Refusing to accept a marriage of convenience for his release, Ling Fan disguises herself as a boy and takes up her brother’s contract to work on the Central Pacific Railroad in America. Her journey to the “Gold Mountain” proves harsh and perilous. Along with other Chinese laborers, she builds the railroad connecting the East and West coasts, […]
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