What is Mommy Reading? – “Shanghai Girls”

I will be posting reviews of parenting books and of personal books I am reading!  For this first blog I am posting a review for Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See.  I read this book just a little while ago with one of my book clubs (I’m in two)!  It got good reviews from the club, and personally I really enjoyed the book!  I’ve been to Japan twice, so reading anything with an Asian influence and that discusses Asian culture I usually tend to find interesting.

Here is a description of the book (book is 336 pages):
“In 1937 Shanghai—the Paris of Asia—twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree—until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth. To repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from Los Angeles to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, from the Chinese countryside to the shores of America. Though inseparable best friends, the sisters also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. Along the way they make terrible sacrifices, face impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are—Shanghai girls.” – Amazon.com


Personal Rating:
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest), I would rate this book a 9.  I really enjoyed the character development throughout the book, the relationships the characters had with each other, and the fast-moving pace of the storyline.  I highly recommend this book!  I am now reading Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See that just came out recently and is the book that follows Shanghai Girls.  I will be doing a review of that book as well (once I finish it)!  =)


Have you read this book?  What did you think?  What rating would you give it?