Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Genre: Historical Asian Fiction
A powerful story based on true events surrounding Donaldina Cameron and other brave women who fought to help Chinese-American women escape discrimination and slavery in the late 19th century in California.
When Donaldina Cameron arrives at the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in 1895, she intends to teach sewing skills to young Chinese women immigrants, but, within days, she discovers that the job is much more complicated than perfect stitches and even hems. San Francisco has a dark side, one where a powerful underground organization--the criminal tong--brings Chinese young women to America to sell them as slaves. With the help of Chinese interpreters and the Chinatown police squad, Donaldina becomes a tireless social reformer to stop the abominable slave and prostitution trade.
When Donaldina Cameron arrives at the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in 1895, she intends to teach sewing skills to young Chinese women immigrants, but, within days, she discovers that the job is much more complicated than perfect stitches and even hems. San Francisco has a dark side, one where a powerful underground organization--the criminal tong--brings Chinese young women to America to sell them as slaves. With the help of Chinese interpreters and the Chinatown police squad, Donaldina becomes a tireless social reformer to stop the abominable slave and prostitution trade.
Mei Lien believes she is sailing to the "Gold Mountain" in America to become the wife of a rich Chinese man. Instead she finds herself sold into prostitution--beaten, starved, and forced into an opium addiction. It is only after a narrow escape that she hears of the mission home and dares to think there might be hope for a new life.
My Review ❤️
What an incredible story!! The fact that it is seeped in truth made The Paper Daughters of Chinatown all the more heartbreaking and unbelievable, while at the same time being hopeful and inspiring.
This is the first historical fiction that I've read about the paper daughters, and the evil secrets of Chinatown, and sadly I've never heard of Donaldina Cameron but, after reading this book, she has become one of my hero's! Literally sacrificing her entire life for her "daughters" and fighting the sex trafficking and prostitution that permeated Chinatown in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
Heather B. Moore handled this sensitive subject matter in an incredible way, not sugar coating the encounters and situations, but alluding to them in a way that leaves no question in the reader's mind about what transpired, painting painful portraits of abuse, and heroic rescues. The use of opium is prominent, as this drug was used to manipulate in the most painful way possible, leaving the paper daughters addicted and in a place of hopelessness. It's so painful to read, yet it's a problem that still persists today, and one that we all need to know.
Dolly's true life story is paralleled with the story of a fictional Chinese girl wanting to help give her mom a better life, and finds herself in the worst nightmare possible. I was entranced and enraged what she endured, knowing that even though she was fictitious, many girls and women have endured similar, if not worse, fates. Absolutely unimaginable...
I am so thankful to Heather B. Moore for shedding a needed light on such incredible women, and their worthy cause. The research that went into this novel shows on every page and you can really feel the author's passion on this subject. She includes all of her references, a list of books for further reading on the subject, and discussion questions for small group study. This would be a wonderful book club pick and a novel I could not put down!!
Thank you Heather B. Moore from the bottom of my heart for writing such an astonishing narrative that I cannot rave enough about! Though a dark subject matter, Donaldina Cameron and her unwavering faith shines through the pain and fear of many Chinese girls, her cause and light spreading hope and love in a community that so desperately needed it. What an incredible story!!
My Rating: ★★★★★
About the Author
Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty publications. Her historical novels and thrillers are written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt, the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Utah. Heather is represented by Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret.
*I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views and opinions are completely honest, and my own.
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