“After a while I said,
“When did my mama die?” 
Your mama came down with a fever three days after you were born. She died when you were two weeks old….”
From the day her mother died Adeline was a “Chinese Cinderella”. In Adeline Yen Mah’s memoir reveals the hardships of her childhood, as an unwanted daughter. Adeline is practically shunned by her family, because she’s blamed for mother’s death.
I thought that the book was uplifting and eye-opening. I was disgusted that Adeline’s own father forgot her name or that she even existed, but was inspired at the ending. Also, overall the memoir was amazing and heartwarming. I felt like I was with Adeline, reliving her childhood. She incorporated lots of Chinese words and phrases that brought the story to life. Adeline’s descriptions of her surroundings and her feelings about being neglected made me cry and laugh throughout the memoir.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be inspired or is looking for an exciting book to read. This title truly fits the story of a Chinese Cinderella. I was swept away into this fairytale tale like true story.
Chinese Cinderella
Dell
Laurel-Leaf, 1999, 295pp., $5.99
Adeline yen Mah ISBN 0-440-22865-4
Created By Becky Skledar November 8, 2007
http://memorial.mentorschools.org/karberg/skledar1.htm