Wu Mei or Adeline (her English name) was the youngest of five siblings, born into a wealthy family in Communist China. Because her mother died giving birth to her, Adeline is considered "bad luck" by her family. Her father remarries a woman named Niang, and they have two children together, who are spoiled rotten. Adeline and her original siblings are often neglected and ignored. Niang controls the family dynamics and she's decided that Adeline is not worth much of anything. Adeline's great aunt and grandfather offer some love and support, but as they are financially dependent on Niang, they must be discreet in showing any affection. Adeline is sent away to boarding school for much of her childhood, and is completely cut off from her family emotionally. She years to be loved by her father and gain respect from Niang, but she feels invisible in their eyes. While not physically abused by her parents, their emotional neglect is heartbreaking to Adeline, and she immerses herself into her studies and books to forget the pain. This is a heartbreaking true "Cinderella" story. A good example of life in China in the 1940s during World War II.
Showing posts with label chinese-american. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chinese-american. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
"Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter" by Adeline Yen Mah
Wu Mei or Adeline (her English name) was the youngest of five siblings, born into a wealthy family in Communist China. Because her mother died giving birth to her, Adeline is considered "bad luck" by her family. Her father remarries a woman named Niang, and they have two children together, who are spoiled rotten. Adeline and her original siblings are often neglected and ignored. Niang controls the family dynamics and she's decided that Adeline is not worth much of anything. Adeline's great aunt and grandfather offer some love and support, but as they are financially dependent on Niang, they must be discreet in showing any affection. Adeline is sent away to boarding school for much of her childhood, and is completely cut off from her family emotionally. She years to be loved by her father and gain respect from Niang, but she feels invisible in their eyes. While not physically abused by her parents, their emotional neglect is heartbreaking to Adeline, and she immerses herself into her studies and books to forget the pain. This is a heartbreaking true "Cinderella" story. A good example of life in China in the 1940s during World War II.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
"American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang
This is a great story, well, actually 3 stories in 1. Jin Wang is the only Chinese American at his school and he hates it. Then there’s the monkey king, who hates being a monkey and wants people to think of him as god. And finally there’s Chin-Kee, who is Danny’s cousin and embarrassing Danny to death at school. Great kung-fu fight scenes. This book won the Printz award!
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