| Chinese Cinderella is a heartbreaking, story of a young Chinese girl who is disgraced and unwanted all her life by her own family. It is a sad memoir of Adeline Yen Mah's own childhood, growing up in the 1940s and 1950s and entering her struggle for acceptance from the time she was born to the age of fourteen.
This is a story about how Adeline is ignored and considered bad luck by her family when her mother dies giving birth to her. When her rich dad remarries, Adeline feels even more left out, there is an addition of 2 children to already 4 siblings. It is soon very clear that her new step mother is in charge and spoils her children rotten, while she neglects Adeline and her siblings. Adeline feels that she needs to do well in school to get her father's attention and receives many certificates and even becomes class president, but all this does is bring misery to her by her jealous siblings. Adeline is the fifth child of her mother and father, she her sister is the eldest, followed by three brothers and her half brother and sister are both younger than her. Along with her siblings, she lives with her father, step-mother, aunt, grandfather, grandmother and a range of butlers, maids and cooks. She is a hard-worker and always receives good grades, just trying to please her father. Her childhood is of her growing up in World War II and how different parts of China were governed by the French, the Japanese and the American. With the war going on, her family is forced to move to a different city as it is too dangerous to stay. After disobeying her step mother's orders one day, she is sent to boarding school in the dangerous city they had left. She is abandoned by her step mother and is the only one left at the boarding school, while troops invade the city. | ||
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Plot & Themes Kids growing up/acting up? Yes Kids: - parental abuse Ethnic/Relig. of subject (inside) Ethnic/regional/gender Yes Period of greatest activity? - 1950+ Subject of Biography Gender - Female Ethnicity - Chinese Nationality - Chinese Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 () Asia/Pacific Yes Asian country: - China Writing Style Book makes you feel? - concerned If this is a kid's book: - Age 14-16 Pictures/Illustrations? - A few 1-5 B&W How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog |
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