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bookslesstravelled's review
4.0
*I was sent a copy of this book from the author. This does not affect my review. This review is voluntary.*
My teenage sister also read this one, and she loved it too, so well done! I've taught her to be a 'picky' reader, and to truly think about what she reads, and what she likes/dislikes about something. So she only reads books she truly enjoys, and she devoured this one!
I actually didn't get to read it until after she finished, and when I asked her she said she enjoyed it and thought I would too. As usual, she was right!
I had a vague idea of what to expect with this one. I knew some of my other reader friends also recently read and enjoyed it, so I was excited to read it as well. That said, I had no idea how much I would actually come to enjoy this story! Not only Tien Fu's story, but that of Dolly and many of the other girls who Tien Fu comes in contact with were so captivating! I loved reading about the hope they found after such a dark season in many of their lives, and about the positive relationships the girls were able to form after such struggles. It isn't easy, and it doesn't get easier even in today's culture, but there is hope, and there are people who care. But more than that, there's a loving God who cares, and who promises Justice and Mercy will prevail. Those how hope in HIM will be met with love and mercy, while the wicked and abuses will only see justice met out for the crimes committed against the innocent.
Tien Fu and Dolly's story is a reminder that people are resilient and that with time and love they can be restored. I enjoyed seeing this powerful reminder, and loved that is now also written in a way that younger readers can also learn from their stories without being exposed to many of the horrors and sins that the world tries so hard to expose them too earlier and earlier in today's world. This would be a great story for parents to discuss with their children and to teach them the value of caring for others and about standing up for what's right, without going into to too much detail too young or too soon. As children become teens and mature then this would also be a good place to start, then with parent's help allow them to research history and the people talked about in this story and other similar heroes who tried to save these poor girls, or those brave men and women in the Underground Railroad or the Holocaust and similar instances where people stood up for those who didn't have a voice.
My teenage sister also read this one, and she loved it too, so well done! I've taught her to be a 'picky' reader, and to truly think about what she reads, and what she likes/dislikes about something. So she only reads books she truly enjoys, and she devoured this one!
I actually didn't get to read it until after she finished, and when I asked her she said she enjoyed it and thought I would too. As usual, she was right!
I had a vague idea of what to expect with this one. I knew some of my other reader friends also recently read and enjoyed it, so I was excited to read it as well. That said, I had no idea how much I would actually come to enjoy this story! Not only Tien Fu's story, but that of Dolly and many of the other girls who Tien Fu comes in contact with were so captivating! I loved reading about the hope they found after such a dark season in many of their lives, and about the positive relationships the girls were able to form after such struggles. It isn't easy, and it doesn't get easier even in today's culture, but there is hope, and there are people who care. But more than that, there's a loving God who cares, and who promises Justice and Mercy will prevail. Those how hope in HIM will be met with love and mercy, while the wicked and abuses will only see justice met out for the crimes committed against the innocent.
Tien Fu and Dolly's story is a reminder that people are resilient and that with time and love they can be restored. I enjoyed seeing this powerful reminder, and loved that is now also written in a way that younger readers can also learn from their stories without being exposed to many of the horrors and sins that the world tries so hard to expose them too earlier and earlier in today's world. This would be a great story for parents to discuss with their children and to teach them the value of caring for others and about standing up for what's right, without going into to too much detail too young or too soon. As children become teens and mature then this would also be a good place to start, then with parent's help allow them to research history and the people talked about in this story and other similar heroes who tried to save these poor girls, or those brave men and women in the Underground Railroad or the Holocaust and similar instances where people stood up for those who didn't have a voice.
xangemthelibrarian's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was really good!
If you want your heart ripped out over true events that happened in the late 19th thru very early 20th century, this is the book for you.
Tien Fu is six years old when she is sold into slavery because her father couldn't pay off his gambling debts. She is passed from one abusive owner to another, eventually finding herself across the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco's Chinatown. While there, she eventually rescued by a Presbyterian mission home.
I liked being able to watch Tien Fu grow up. I never felt like her actions were unwarranted: she was brutally traumatized by her forced enslavement. And as she grew up, she learned to turn that resentment into a purpose: a life calling.
I didn't quite like the chapters narrated by Dolly so much, but it was mostly because when I meet people who speak so religiously, I tend to be suspicious of them. She's just fine. It's me.
If you want your heart ripped out over true events that happened in the late 19th thru very early 20th century, this is the book for you.
Tien Fu is six years old when she is sold into slavery because her father couldn't pay off his gambling debts. She is passed from one abusive owner to another, eventually finding herself across the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco's Chinatown. While there, she eventually rescued by a Presbyterian mission home.
I liked being able to watch Tien Fu grow up. I never felt like her actions were unwarranted: she was brutally traumatized by her forced enslavement. And as she grew up, she learned to turn that resentment into a purpose: a life calling.
I didn't quite like the chapters narrated by Dolly so much, but it was mostly because when I meet people who speak so religiously, I tend to be suspicious of them. She's just fine. It's me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Gun violence
readwithdaphne's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I have absolutely loved this story! It is a beautiful edit for young readers of a heartbreaking but also beautiful story. The way this is written is suitable for kids but doesn't stay away from topics such as abuse and prostitution. It also doesn't go into such great detail with these topics, which I think is good for children.
During the story, we get to 'watch' Tai Choi or Tien Fu grow up. The fact that this is a true story and the people we're reading about actually exist, makes it even more heartbreaking and also moving and beautiful. It gave me goosebumps reading up and looking up the actual Tien Fu and Dolly.
Besides all this, the story is educational for children as they learn what happened in history to Chinese girls and women. It also teaches more about Chinese culture, for example the foot binding.
I am very curious to read the adult version of this now!
I would highly recommend this book.
During the story, we get to 'watch' Tai Choi or Tien Fu grow up. The fact that this is a true story and the people we're reading about actually exist, makes it even more heartbreaking and also moving and beautiful. It gave me goosebumps reading up and looking up the actual Tien Fu and Dolly.
Besides all this, the story is educational for children as they learn what happened in history to Chinese girls and women. It also teaches more about Chinese culture, for example the foot binding.
I am very curious to read the adult version of this now!
I would highly recommend this book.
story_sanctuary's review
First let me say that this was a really easy book to read. I’d guess it took me something like two and a half hours to read the whole thing.
I really liked that so much of the story is told from Tien Fu Wu’s perspective, even though her story is heartbreaking. I liked getting to follow her through her recovery to the point where she decided to help rescue other girls and where she was able to use her own experience to understand how to comfort other girls.
All I can say about Dolly Cameron is that she must have been truly a force to be reckoned with. I loved the way her friendship with Tien Fu Wu developed and the growth they both experienced along the way.
I haven’t read the adult version of this book, so I don’t know what content was removed. One of the things I wish this book had given a little more background information on was why the president and his wife visited the mission home. I wanted to understand how that happened. How did they know about the mission, and was there something that prompted them to visit? It might be that that's included in the adult version and didn't make it into the young readers' edition.
Other than that, I thought the book did a great job describing the lives of girls like Tien Fu Wu and the obstacles that Dolly Cameron and the women at the mission faced in order to help them.
I think readers who enjoy books about history will definitely want to check this one out. The writing style seems more like narrative nonfiction, but it’s classified as a novel. Something about it reminded me of a book called LI JUN AND THE IRON ROAD by Anne Tait.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.
I really liked that so much of the story is told from Tien Fu Wu’s perspective, even though her story is heartbreaking. I liked getting to follow her through her recovery to the point where she decided to help rescue other girls and where she was able to use her own experience to understand how to comfort other girls.
All I can say about Dolly Cameron is that she must have been truly a force to be reckoned with. I loved the way her friendship with Tien Fu Wu developed and the growth they both experienced along the way.
I haven’t read the adult version of this book, so I don’t know what content was removed. One of the things I wish this book had given a little more background information on was why the president and his wife visited the mission home. I wanted to understand how that happened. How did they know about the mission, and was there something that prompted them to visit? It might be that that's included in the adult version and didn't make it into the young readers' edition.
Other than that, I thought the book did a great job describing the lives of girls like Tien Fu Wu and the obstacles that Dolly Cameron and the women at the mission faced in order to help them.
I think readers who enjoy books about history will definitely want to check this one out. The writing style seems more like narrative nonfiction, but it’s classified as a novel. Something about it reminded me of a book called LI JUN AND THE IRON ROAD by Anne Tait.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.
em_the_reader13's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
libraryofhelixis's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a beautiful story of an ugly history. It was hard to read about and gave me all the emotions, I cried many times.
The paper daughters of Chinatown was an inspirational story with two historical figureheads - a woman, Dolly, who set aside her life to save the trafficked Chinese girls as they come across into America and run the mission house they stay in with a stoic kindness, and a stubborn and strong willed fierce, little Chinese girl, Tien Fu Wu.
And although I haven’t read the source material it’s filled with emotion and information that isn’t too heavy for school kids to use to learn about that time period, that terrible part of history.
The paper daughters of Chinatown was an inspirational story with two historical figureheads - a woman, Dolly, who set aside her life to save the trafficked Chinese girls as they come across into America and run the mission house they stay in with a stoic kindness, and a stubborn and strong willed fierce, little Chinese girl, Tien Fu Wu.
And although I haven’t read the source material it’s filled with emotion and information that isn’t too heavy for school kids to use to learn about that time period, that terrible part of history.
vaiomo's review
4.0
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
I really really enjoyed this book, not only was it interesting to read through the eyes of a 7 year old girl but it was also mesmerising to read about the slave trade in China and America, how social standards of beauty are perceived in different countries (the foot binding in the beginning) and the character decelopment in this book was simply amazing too.
I especially loved the ending, without spoiling anything I loved the full circle kind of moment in the ending and I was very content with it since I felt like it fit well for the end of the book itself.
Definitely recommend!
I really really enjoyed this book, not only was it interesting to read through the eyes of a 7 year old girl but it was also mesmerising to read about the slave trade in China and America, how social standards of beauty are perceived in different countries (the foot binding in the beginning) and the character decelopment in this book was simply amazing too.
I especially loved the ending, without spoiling anything I loved the full circle kind of moment in the ending and I was very content with it since I felt like it fit well for the end of the book itself.
Definitely recommend!
bloodbrooxv's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Thank you Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I haven't read the original source material, but i think this adaptation was arranged beautifully. The characters and the pacing are spot on, and the story of Tien Fu is so inspirational for everyone. I think this book is a great starting point for young readers to learn about slavery and those kind of sensible topics.
I would recommend The Paper daughters of Chinatown to anyone who's interested in a both deep and fast paced historical fiction book!
I haven't read the original source material, but i think this adaptation was arranged beautifully. The characters and the pacing are spot on, and the story of Tien Fu is so inspirational for everyone. I think this book is a great starting point for young readers to learn about slavery and those kind of sensible topics.
I would recommend The Paper daughters of Chinatown to anyone who's interested in a both deep and fast paced historical fiction book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Racism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
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