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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Violence of slavery, frontier brutality, and the dangers facing Chinese women in the American West
Language
Barely any
Literary prose; no profanity
Sexual Content
Some
Sexual exploitation as part of Polly's slavery; referenced rather than graphically depicted
Substance Use
Barely any
None
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The sustained psychological cost of surviving exploitation and building selfhood from nothing
What this book is about
Lalu Nathoy—later known as Polly Bemis—is sold by her destitute father and shipped to the American West in the 1870s, where she is sold to a Chinese saloon owner. Ruthanne Lum McCunn's biographical novel follows Polly across decades as she builds a life in the Idaho frontier against every conceivable obstacle.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Sexual exploitation of enslaved women depicted in historical context
Reader Verification
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