Title: China DollsAuthor: Lisa See
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: After moving to California to try to find work at the 1939 World's Fair at Treasure Island, Grace Lee meets Helen Fong and Ruby Tom at the glamorous Forbidden City nightclub. All three young women are there to audition to become dancers for the club's nightly shows. As if life hadn't thrown enough challenges at these women, everything changes after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
My Thoughts
I love when I can find a novel written from a perspective that isn't usually given much attention. Reading about the United States during WWII as told from the perspective of young Chinese-American women was really cool.
Each of the women come from very different upbringings and the author writes different chapters from each of the three young women's points of view. The novel starts and ends by hearing from Grace Lee, so I found that I was most attached to her character.
When Grace, Ruby, and Helen are all in different locations there is a chapter that is entirely written as letters between the characters. I thought this was a nice addition to the novel and still gave insight into what each character was experiencing.
This story is a reminder of the difficulty of being an unmarried woman looking for work in the 1930's and 1940's before the war effort began. It also portray's the fine balance between wanting to honor the traditions of the past while also living as a modern American woman.
If you like stories about the strength and difficulty of friendship, the American home-front during WWII, and the 1940's nightclub scene, this book is for you!
Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!
To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from Lisa See, visit her website linked above.
I love when I can find a novel written from a perspective that isn't usually given much attention. Reading about the United States during WWII as told from the perspective of young Chinese-American women was really cool.
Each of the women come from very different upbringings and the author writes different chapters from each of the three young women's points of view. The novel starts and ends by hearing from Grace Lee, so I found that I was most attached to her character.
When Grace, Ruby, and Helen are all in different locations there is a chapter that is entirely written as letters between the characters. I thought this was a nice addition to the novel and still gave insight into what each character was experiencing.
This story is a reminder of the difficulty of being an unmarried woman looking for work in the 1930's and 1940's before the war effort began. It also portray's the fine balance between wanting to honor the traditions of the past while also living as a modern American woman.
If you like stories about the strength and difficulty of friendship, the American home-front during WWII, and the 1940's nightclub scene, this book is for you!
Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!
To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from Lisa See, visit her website linked above.
Just wondering if you have an email address, or some means to contact you if you're interested in ding book reviews. If so, I have some really good books in the historical fiction realm that might interest you. If interested, please contact me at wendy.saddler@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, you can email me at rachelrobson07@gmail.com
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