A review by takeaim
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

challenging emotional funny 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

4.0

You'll find yourself rooting for Jo Kuan, a Chinese-American teen orphan living in 1890s Atlanta. The daily cruelty and injustice of Jo's life is heartbreaking, but she refuses to break. Writing anonymously as Miss Sweetie, a newspaper advice columnist, Jo shakes up the status quo of a society made up of the haves, have-nots and the never-will-haves. The backlash jeopardizes Jo's carefully protected existence, but being Miss Sweetie could also answer her one question: What happened to her parents?
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