Moore, Heather B. and Allison Hong Merrill. Paper Daughters of Chinatown, The. Shadow Mountain, 04/2023. 240pp. Fiction. GRADES 7 – 9. Trade $18.99. 978-1-63993-094-4. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Adapted from the best-selling adult novel, this YA version shifts the focus from the white, real-life crusader, Donaldina (Dolly) Cameron, and the young Chinese women forced into prostitution, to Tien Fu Wu, one of the Chinese “paper-daughters” Cameron aided. At the end of the nineteenth century, six-year-old Tien Fu was sold by her debt-ridden father. With other Chinese girls she was shipped to San Francisco, trained to pass immigration as a “paper-daughter,” then sold and re-sold into domestic slavery. Well researched and horrifying, the fictionalized story of real-life enslaved girls is intrinsically engaging. Moore and Merrill have made the subject appropriate for upper middle grade and high school readers. The brutality, sexual violence, and drug use inherent to human-trafficking appears briefly, is referred to, or occurs outside the frame of the narrative. Despite some clunky writing, this eye-opening story of female resilience and bravery is full of substantial local relevance and human interest. Historic and fictional characters are clearly delineated. A timeline precedes the narrative. Back matter includes Questions & Answers, Selected Bibliography, and Recommended Reading. Reviewed from an ARC. This book has California-specific content.
Melissa McAvoy—Retired