Book Review: Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

Did you know that the fairytale of Cinderella is actually a Chinese folktale that dates back to the ninth century? It is essentially the same story as the Italian version, but predates it by eight hundred years. I found this an interesting little piece of information that made this book even more fitting of it's title.

Chinese Cinderella is memoir of a childhood that is far from perfect. Adeline recalls many instances of being either neglected or even punished by her step-mother and father. She was an unwanted Chinese girl, who was blamed for her mother's death ( her mother died after giving birth to her). She was smart and did well in school. She was determined to grow up and move away and make something of herself. Through hard work and a little good luck, she was able to to do this.

I enjoyed this book. It is written for a young adult audience, so it is a quick read. I think that Falling Leaves, another memoir written by this author, is a little more detailed and written for an adult audience. But, anyway, it was interesting to read about her life experiences growing up in China in the 1940's and 50's when communism was at it's beginning. I love memoirs, and I love to read about the asian culture, so I really expected a lot out of this book. I wasn't too disappointed. I did wish that I could have felt more for her. There seemed to be some distance that was created by her writing style. That being said, I think that it was clean, positive and encouraging. I think it is one that I will want my girls to read, it has that "you can do anything, and be anything" sentiment to it.

My Rating

Overall: 4 stars

Objectionable Content: none, I would let my 10 year old daughter read this book.