Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter

Adeline Yen Mah's story is engulfing, it's engaging, and it's enlightening. Out of a sad, often cruel existence, Adeline moved me, dosing her existence with spots of humor... like the American Officer visiting her class. At the end of his talk, which he gave smoking nonstop, he asked if there were any questions. Her good friend Wu Chun-mei at last raised her hand and asked her 'onliest' innocent question, "But can you make smoke come out of your ears too?" - too tickled here.There was the part about the book, "A Little Princess," her friend, again Wu Chun-mei, loaned her. Very touching to read how Adeline tried to savor that book. Gosh, this part among many others moved me tears watching this child seeing inspiration, and doing what she could to hang on to it. I'm thinking here, "hang on Yen Jun-ling!" I certainly appreciated learning a little about Chinese characters, and the meaning behind names... and, too, the exchange between Ye-Ye and Adeline near the end when she announced her displeasure with reading Chinese... that exchange was absolutely priceless."Though life has to be lived forward, you can only understand it backward." - Outstanding Golden Gem!

A well written and beautifully written book. My son's school recommended it for a summer reading project. He likes the book a lot and I love it, too. We discussed how Adeline's "hidden" character and fortitude are inspirational. Her strength gave her the ability to continually hope. It is hard to read at times and I remember physically wincing. Parts of the author's memoir reminded me of a book I read, Under The Same Sky by Joseph Kim. Hope and desire for a life with love are strong, common threads. This book helped my early teen son understand the human need for love outside of his need, as well as how powerful the need for love is. I did not want to put this book down, so I read it rather quickly. My son also did not want to put it down. We both are inspired by Adeline's wisdom and survival skills. Her acceptance of her "position" pushed her hard toward high academic achievement, as a way to be loved and accepted by her dad. She is a hero for not quitting, for not accepting defeat no matter how bleak things were. Thankfully she had "everyday heroes" in her life. She chose their support and help--for that she was brave. It is honorable that she used her intelligence, talents, and painful childhood to motivate herself for a better life that led her into an occupation that serves others. Her writing talent is wonderful to experience. My son and I learned about the difference between the written Chinese language and the spoken ones. Her explanations and examples of how the written language is expressed in pictures made it much less intimidating to learn for me. She presented it in such a way that I easily learned words and phrases from her book. This memoir is also full of historical facts. The author takes readers on a journey to places and situations as though we were actually there.The book made me think and for that I am grateful.

The book seemed to be very realistic and convey the feelings of the main character. Her struggle was a relatable one and I enjoyed that. The only problem was that the pacing near the end of the book was a bit slow, but the bittersweet ending more than enough made up for that. A good read.

As a private tutor, I work with a lot of teens and preteens. This book was perfect for a preteen Chinese girl living in NYC. She has memories of many of the places mentioned in the book and learned a lot about her culture. She was able to read the Chinese used in the book and to explain to me some of the cultural references used in the story. The story is well told and held us cheering for the author. It is a very inspiration story from which the reader can pull determination, courage, confidence, and optimism.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of Unwanted DaughterChinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, tells her childhood story of being a young, Chinese girl living in an unvenial household. Her family was so abusive and unfair, you can hardly believe her story was a true story. Like the fairytale Cinderella, Adeline has an abusive stepmother, who she calls Niang, who is favored among many for her Chinese and French heritage and has a passionate hatred towards Adeline. Her own father, “treats her like garbage” and even forgets Adeline’s name. Adeline watches the rest of her siblings get treated generously, while she is left in the shadows. However, she hides her true heart and never speaks of the abusive home life to her fellow peers. Instead she rises from the ashes and is the top of her class in school. Knowing that one day, she will be able to make someone out of the beaten and bruised girl she is.Personally, what I enjoyed about the book was how the author was able to produce strong emotions towards characters from the readers. Whilst reading her story, I felt a burning hatred towards the people who would treated Adeline wrong. Or in other situations, I’d find myself beaming when Adeline triumphs. Her story was inspiring to read, and she is a strong young woman, who wanted to make a life out of herself, even though she is living in the 1940s. I would also recommend the book if you are wanting to learn more about the Chinese culture. Throughout the story, she uses Chinese dialects, talks about the ceremonies they go to, and the Communist government that surrounds her.

this book has made me cry thousands of times, when I first read it, I was in middle school and didn't want to return it, so I just ordered it on amazon

The story is an engaging story of the author's early life. She lived in virtual poverty but received vital encouragement from a favorite aunt and grandfather. She grew up during the Communist take over. Her family escaped to Hong Kong. She eventually got to study in England for medicine. She moved to California and is also the mother of two children.