Fifth Chinese Daughter
Jade Snow Wong grew up in a traditional Chinese family in San Francisco's pre-World War II Chinatown. It was a world in which wives were introduced by their husbands as "my inferior woman," rules were taught with corporal punishment, and home life was literally connected to the family business: "As much a part of home as her bedroom were the sewing machines she passed before she came to her bedroom door. She talked above the din of a factory full of motors and machines in operation, and practically breathed in rhythm to the running stitches." A highly intelligent child who consistently skips grades throughout public school (while attending Chinese school at night and taking over much of the family housework), Jade Snow Wong becomes determined to go to college and gain more independence than she has been taught to expect. Her decision sets off a balancing process between cultures that Jade Snow Wong, in correct Chinese third person, explores with humor, reverence, and philosophical insight. On one level a universal story of a child learning to assert her own identity,Fifth Chinese Daughteris also a marvelous resource on Chinese cooking, festivals, and child-rearing techniques, as well as a picture of Chinatown before and during World War II. Straightforward, honest, full of love, Jade Snow Wong's book is a wonderful and educational reading experience.-- For great reviews of books for girls, check outLet's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. --From500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister