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Chinese Cinderella
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Chinese Cinderella (2001) (edit title/settings)

The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter

by Adeline Yen Mah (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s. A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella , Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph... read more

Summary edit see section history

This book is about a young girl named Adeline. She lives with her rich family but her brothers and older sister are very mean to her. This is because her mother died while giving birth to her, so now her dad, step mom and sibling blame her. She is treated unfairly by her family. Nobody cares... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

This book is about a young girl named Adeline. She lives with her rich family but her brothers and older sister are very mean to her. This is because her mother died while giving birth to her, so now her dad, step mom and sibling blame her. She is treated unfairly by her family. Nobody cares about her except for her loving aunt and grandmother, but when her grandmother dies of a stroke she gets a feeling of loneliness and a strong bond with her aunt. When her aunt and her gets separated how does she live? Does she live? Read it to find out.
I chose this book to read because I thought it looked interesting. I was fascinated about how life was in China. One thing I learned in this book was that many Chinese people eat duck. That is because chicken is more expensive there. Another thing I learned in this book was that people were safe from the civil war in Hong Kong so that's where people went. My last thing I learned from this book was that people thought that women with small feet were pretty so they tried to make them stop growing.
I would only recommend this to people who like sad books because it is very sad.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Adeline: The unwanted daughter who is considered bad luck as her real mother died after giving birth to her.
  • Aunt Baba: Adeline's aunt who is the only one who actually cares and loves Adeline, aside from her grandfather.
  • Niang / Jeanne Yen: Adeline's horrid stepmother who loves her own children more than her step children.
  • Nai Nai: Adeline's grandmother.
  • Ye Ye: Adeline's grandfather, the other person who also cared about Adeline.
  • Gin Gon / Joseph Yen: Adeline's father, who remarries after Adeline's mother dies.
  • Wu Chun Mei: Adeline's best friend during her time in Shanghai. An athetic girl.
  • Big Sister / Lydia: Adeline's eldest sister, who is the only child of Adeline's real mother who is favoured by her stepmother.
  • Big Brother / Gregory: Adeline's eldest brother.
  • Second Brother / Edgar: Adeline's second brother, who always teases Adeline.
  • Third Brother / James: Adeline's third brother. He is the nicest of all her siblings and doesn't treat Adeline so badly... apart from the occasional trick he might play on her with his other brothers.
  • Fourth Younger Brother / Franklin: Adeline's younger brother. He is the the son of her stepmother, so is favoured by her under all circumstances.
  • Little Sister / Susan: Adeline's younger sister. The other child of her stepmother... she is favoured in the same way.
Show all 13 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune … to lose both seems like carelessness.”
    sda
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • It is still important to be truthful and loyal, to do the best you can, to make the most of your talents, to be happy with the simple things in life, and to believe deep down that you will ultimately triumph if you try hard enough to prove your worth.
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • My classmates made me feel as if I “belonged.” Unlike my siblings, nobody looked down on me.
    Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers
  • Mother Teresa once said, “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted are the greatest poverty.” To this I will add: Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities.
    Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers
  • If you had not been born, Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck.”
    Highlighted by 15 Kindle customers
  • Chinese Cinderella is dedicated to you with the fervent wish that you will persist in trying to do your best in the face of hopelessness; to have faith in the end your spirit will prevail; to transcend your abuse and transform it into a source of courage, creativity and compassion.
    Highlighted by 15 Kindle customers
  • Nobody was there to pat my head or congratulate me, not even my Aunt Baba. As for Big Sister, she had refused to go to school that day. She’d said she had a stomachache.
    Highlighted by 11 Kindle customers
  • We’ll give you the tram fare only if you’re truly contrite.”
    Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers
  • That’s exactly what I’ll do, I thought to myself. After dinner, I’m going to ask Big Brother to teach me how to read this map. With Aunt Baba still in Tianjin, there’s obviously nobody looking out for me. I’ll just have to find my own way.
    Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers
  • Though life has to be lived forward, it can only be understood backward.
    Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers
  • genius is ten percent inspiration, ninety percent perspiration.”
    Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers
Show all 11 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

As soon as I got home from school, Aunt Baba noticed the silver medal dangling from the left breast pocket of my uniform.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Author's Note
Preface

1. Top of the Class
2. A Tianjin Family
3. Nai Nai's Bound Feet
4. Life in Tianjin
5. Arrival in Shanghai
6. First Day at School
7. Family Reunion
8. Tram Fare
9. Chinese New Year
10. Shanghai School Days
11. PLT
12. Big Sister's Wedding
13. A Birthday Party
14. Class President
15. Boarding School in Tianjin
16. Hong Kong
17. Boarding School in Hong Kong
18. Miserable Sunday
19. End of Term
20. Pneumonia
21. Playwriting Competition
22. Letter from Aunt Baba

The Story of Ye Xian : The Original Chinese Cinderella
Historical Note
Author's Postscript
About the Author

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Adeline Yen Mah (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Country: USA
Publication Date: March 13, 2001
ISBN: 0440228654
Page Count: 240

Classification edit see section history

Books Cited by This Book edit see section history

   
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