About the Book
Based on the true
story of two friends who unite to help rescue immigrant women in the
most dangerous corners of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 1890s.
When
Tai Choi leaves her home in the Zhejiang province of China, she
believes she’ll be visiting her grandmother. But in truth, despite her
mother’s opposition, her father has sold her to pay his gambling debts.
Alone and afraid, Tai Choi is put on a ship headed for San Francisco,
known among the Chinese as Gold Mountain. When she arrives, she is
forced to go by the new name listed on her paper documents: Tien Fu Wu.
Her
new life as a servant at a gambling den is hard. She is told to stay
hidden, to stay silent, and to perform an endless list of chores, or
else she will be punished. Tien Fu thinks her life couldn’t get any
worse, until she is sold again to an abusive shopkeeper and tasked to
care for a young boy. If she is to survive, Tien Fu must persevere, and
learn who to trust.
When Dolly Cameron arrives in San Francisco
to teach sewing at a mission home for orphaned Asian girls, she meets
Tien Fu, who is willful, defiant, and unwilling to trust anyone. Dolly
quickly learns that all the girls at the home were freed from lives of
servitude and maltreatment. Dolly immediately joins the group of women
dedicated to saving more of these “paper daughters” because some in
authority have turned a blind eye to the situation.
Despite many
challenges, Dolly and Tien Fu forge a powerful friendship as they mentor
and help those in the mission home and work to win the freedom of
thousands of immigrant women and girls. (Goodreads)
RELEASES APRIL 11, 2023!!!
My Thoughts
This is a story that has stuck with me since reading the last page. This book is fantastic and so incredibly interesting as it shines a bright light on part of history I knew nothing about! I have not read the original as this one was adapted for young readers. This is a GREAT book. I was sucked into the story from the start and all of the characters and the great risk that these women took to save others simply blows me away. I can understand why this story had to be rewritten for a younger audience as there are some pretty terrible things that happen to the young women in this story. But it was written in a way that got the point across without being graphic. I thought the writing was great and the flow of the story and historical time line excellent. I loved this book and I think everyone should read about the history of the Occidental Mission Home/Donaldina Cameron House. It is inspiring!
Five stars.
" I received this book from Shadow Mountain Publishing for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review."
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