Book Description:
When twenty-six-year-old Donaldina Cameron arrives at the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in 1895, she intends to stay for only one year to teach sewing skills to young Chinese women. 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—buys and sells Chinese girls like common goods. With the help of Chinese interpreters and a local police squad, Donaldina works night and day 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.
The Paper Daughters of Chinatown throws new light on the age-old scourge of human trafficking. The heroes who fought this evil and the victims who triumphed over it more than a hundred years ago offer a bright example of courage and determination for anyone wishing for a better world.
Rorie's Review:
This story was so good! I didn’t know anything about the paper daughters before reading this, and it was shocking and horrifying to learn about. I found myself putting the book down more than once so I could head over to good ol' Google and research different things, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and foot binding. (Both of which horrified me.)
Donaldina Cameron was a saint, and I was continually amazed at her strength and perseverance, even when she was terrified. I found myself wishing we could have learned more about officer Cook. He was such an integral part of the story, and I felt like something was missing because we didn't really get to know anything about him.
This is a book that I recommend to everyone, and I also recommend researching all of the things that you will learn about in this book. Sometimes history is ugly, but it’s still important to learn about it so we don’t repeat that ugliness.
Andrea's Review:
I had never heard about Donaldina Cameron or the paper daughters of Chinatown until I was introduced to this book. Human trafficking is such a horrible part of our country’s history (and our present day), and learning about it is an important step in getting rid of the awful practice.
This book was very eye opening. Such horrible practices are and were performed in the name of greed. So many women and girls were lied to and then forced into prostitution to pad the pockets of evil individuals. Many others were like slaves, and all were treated abominably.
Historical fiction can be tricky. I love learning while I’m entertained, but it can be difficult for a story like this to be told. The presentation didn’t hold my attention the whole time, and I could read a bit and then put it down for several days. For a large portion of the book it alternated between Dolly (Donaldina) and Mei Lien (a fictional character). While fascinated by Dolly’s choices to turn her life over to the cause and all she went through in rescuing and sustaining the girls, Mei Lien’s story was more of a draw (until those alternate story lines ended and she became a minor character).
I’m a sucker for a happy ending and kept hoping that more would happen in Dolly’s personal life. She did find fulfillment with her “daughters”, but I was sad for her loneliness and failed relationships.
Tarah's Review:
I was not very excited to open this book. I was dreading the story inside because I knew it was going to be hard to read about. However, I was taken off guard by how this story was told, and once I did open this book up, it was hard to put down.
Human trafficking is such a hard topic to even think about, I can't imagine writing something about it. However, I feel like the author was able to get across the horribleness of it without getting graphic, which I appreciated.
I also appreciated that at the end of the book the author has some ideas of what we can do to help. You can't read this book and not want to take some part in putting a stop to human trafficking. It is helpful to have a source at the end of the book that tells us how we can participate in learning more, and put an end to it.
Will I read this again? I'm not sure. It was beautifully written and powerful, but heart breaking at the same time. Would I recommend it? Absolutely.
About the Author:
Title: The Paper Daughters of Chinatown
Author: Heather B. Moore
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Published: September 2020
ISBN: 9781629727820
Source: We received copies from the publisher. All opinions expressed are our own.
Purchase: Amazon | Deseret Book
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