The Paper Daughters of Chinatown is a powerful novel about one woman and her fight to end Chinese-American slavery. Set in the early 1900’s, this tale is told from two points of view–Donaldina Cameron and Mei Lien. While the character of Mei Lien is a work of fiction, author Heather B. Moore researched and studied the writings of Donaldina, or Dolly, to really bring this inspiring story to life. Dolly was a true champion for human rights and Moore’s strong writing allows the story to be detailed yet still easy to understand. At times Paper Daughters is hard to read, but Moore focuses on the elements of Divine intervention, strength, and forgiveness. Readers should utilize the author’s note, historical timeline and character chart. Provided discussion questions make The Paper Daughters of Chinatown a solid and recommended book club pick.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Shadow Mountain
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Frequent verbal threats; frequent implied occurrences of violence including scars and bruises, a limp, and a stick of dynamite; multiple secondhand reports of violence including beatings, burns and other physical abuse; multiple brief scenes of violence including beatings, choking a character and dragging someone by their hair; a few scenes occur with destruction of property with no casualties, including a fire and breaking down doors; a non-detailed scene of violence occurs when a character is shot; a brief scene of blood and gore occurs when a character is shot and his injuries are being cared for.
Sex/Nudity: A few incidents of kissing; a non-sexual depiction of nudity when a character is physically examined; a few sexual references occur including a girl wondering if she should wear a white wedding dress; frequent implied or reported incidents of sexual activity, including references to a ‘life of sin’, men leaving bedrooms, and bidding for the first night with a woman; a few discussion regarding sex include when rescuers find girls forced into prostitution and hear their stories.
Mature Subject Matter:
Human trafficking, kidnapping and abductions, human rights, civil rights, trauma, child abuse and neglect, death of family members, slavery, prostitution and brothels, abandonment, earthquakes and fires, government corruption, mention of attempted suicide, mention of death threats, stealing, arrests, plague, cancer, burned effigy with a dagger in the center.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Characters are drugged with opium and grow addicted; characters go through opium withdrawals; characters frequently smoke pipes and cigarettes; the smell of opium is all over Chinatown.
