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alyssa_max's review against another edition
4.0
It is difficult to believe that this book is non-fiction, and even those who tend to avoid the genre would likely be captivated by this story. The author does an extremely thorough and balanced job of portraying the life of Sister Ping and the complicated history of Chinese immigration to the United States.
For readers interested in the topic, I would recommend “Four Treasures of the Sky” and “How Much of these Hills is Gold” as interesting historical fiction companions to this book, both of which deal with other aspects of the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States.
CWs (no spoilers): the book covers heavy topics, including violence, torture, murder, sexual assault, and forced sterilization. However, descriptions are generally brief and factual in nature.
For readers interested in the topic, I would recommend “Four Treasures of the Sky” and “How Much of these Hills is Gold” as interesting historical fiction companions to this book, both of which deal with other aspects of the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States.
CWs (no spoilers): the book covers heavy topics, including violence, torture, murder, sexual assault, and forced sterilization. However, descriptions are generally brief and factual in nature.
pipgrace's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
simplysapphic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
louisebowden's review
5.0
meticulously detailed and riveting !! as a migration gal it was so interesting to learn about a niche part of history that has global reach.
carolynrasp's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
I will read anything PRK writes, so I've had his backlist books on my TBR, and this one was no exception to the excellence of narrative non-fiction he provides. I had no clue about the Chinese human smuggling trade, and this was a WILD story that had me going "what!?!?!" multiple times. It was a lot of people to keep track of, and I lost my way a bit in the middle, but overall, an excellent telling of a dramatic immigration story and some critique on policy.