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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Kidnapping, human trafficking, anti-Chinese riots and violence; historical atrocity depicted
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Some
A young woman in a brothel; sexual exploitation depicted with serious intent; nothing gratuitous
Substance Use
Barely any
Opium use in the historical setting
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Survival of trafficking and sexual exploitation; the violence of racism as an institutional force; a young woman's identity fractured by repeated displacement
What this book is about
Daiyu is kidnapped from her village in China as a young girl and transported to San Francisco's Chinatown during the Chinese Exclusion Act, where she is sold into a brothel. She escapes and makes her way to Idaho — only to arrive during the violent anti-Chinese riots of 1887. Jenny Tinghui Zhang's debut novel is unflinching about the brutality of American history toward Chinese immigrants, written in prose of startling beauty, following a young woman who must become multiple versions of herself to survive.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
human trafficking and sexual exploitation
anti-Chinese violence and historical racism
survival of severe trauma
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