Daughters of Shandong

disappointment. When Second Sister arrived one year later, she was a failure. Father wistfully named her Li-Di, since di meant "younger brother." Then Third Sister came along, a catastrophe so horrific that she got only a number: Three.

Three girls rattled the Angs enough for Nai Nai to take drastic measures. Though she watched every coin like it was a fragment of her soul, she decided to trade an ounce of gold for a glimpse into the future. Together, she and Mom went to a famous fortune-teller in a neighboring town and asked if a male heir was forthcoming. Mom wrote down the date and time of her birth as he examined the lines on her palm, reading it like it was a map of her life. Handing Mom an amber amulet for protection, he declared solemnly that Mom would not have a son until she turned thirty-six.

Mom was only in her late twenties then, but Nai Nai came home giddy, delighted that an heir would arrive eventually. She ordered my parents to sleep in separate rooms and forbade them from having intercourse until Mom's thirty-sixth birthday. Lauding herself for her ingenuity, she boasted, "This will save us the expense of raising additional daughters!" After all, girls were nothing more than wives for other people's sons.

Father obeyed and set up his own bedroom, but he told Nai Nai that fortune-tellers were a scam. "We make our own fate," he insisted, a feeble protest that she ignored. At night, Nai Nai remained a vigilant guard, monitoring the hallway with bizarre frequency. Despite her enthusiasm, even the fiercest dragon succumbs to slumber. A few months later, Mom became pregnant for the fourth time.

"Don't tell anyone," Mom whispered to me, and continued her chores as though nothing had changed. Every morning, she woke up at four a.m. to cook breakfast for about eighty workers who lived on and tilled our land. They began work at dawn, so Mom had to grind flour by lamplight. She was a fantastic cook, and made buns and dumpl

ladder just another worthless daughter from a mother who cannot produce sons. But when her father and his family flee before the advancing communists, leaving Hai and her mother and sisters behind, the discarded women must fight to prove their worth, embarking on a thousand-mile journey across revolution-torn China toward the possibility of a better life. Daughters of Shandong is a powerhouse debut from a major new talent!"
Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye

Daughters of Shandong is a powerful and poignant interrogation of mothers, daughters, and the sacrifices they make for love. This is a story of women who unite to take fate into their own hands and to claim their voices. You won't be able to forget this compelling tale of resilience and hope.
Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftover Women and Girl in Translation

From the snowy land, to the golden wheat field, to the crowded colony of tents, to the island across a glittering sea, Daughters of Shandong tells an epic journey of a mother and her three children seeking to unite with the family that abandons them. Inspired by the true story of the author's grandmother, who survived the civil war in China, the novel is impossible to put down, radiating with luminous prose, hauntingly vivid details, and unforgettable accounts of human resilience. Intimate, immersive, and utterly enthralling, Daughters of Shandong is a brilliant debut by an astonishingly gifted writer!
Weina Dai Randel, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Last Rose of Shanghai

A powerful and moving tale of a mother and her three daughters' resilience and strength as they escape from war-torn China in the 1940's. Their stunning story will grip you and not let go, echoing in your heart long after you've finished the last page.
Lyn Liao Butler, author of Red Thread of Fate and Amazon bestseller Someone Else's Life

"An inspiring story of survival, resilience, and the search for home. It's a heartfelt, beautifully crafted portrait of the family ties that bind us, and the sacrifices and choices made by women at a fascinating moment in history. The fast-moving plot was riveting from start to finish. I found myself rooting for Hai, her mother and sisters right up to the book's satisfying, hopeful ending. What an impressive and powerful debut."
Helen Wan, author of The Partner Track