Monday, May 11, 2009

68 - Shanghai Girls; Lisa See




Shanghai Girls: A Novel, is a story of (2) sisters: Pearl and May Chin who are born to well off parents and enjoying their high style life in Shanghai. One day their father tells his daughters that he has gambled all of their money and that in order to satisfy his debts he has arranged to sell his daughters to Chinese men from the United States. The sisters oppose the arranged marriages, but before they have a chance to make other plans, the Japanese invade China and the girls and their mother are forced to quickly flee. Horrible events occur while they are trying to leave China for the US, and the sisters make some difficult choices along the way including one secret with life changing consequences.
Lisa See does an amazing job detailing the horrific events faced by the Chinese people before WWII. at the hands of brutal soldiers. I loved the way that the strong bond between sisters was so vividly portrayed, and although the ending seemed a bit abrupt for my taste, I am hoping that this was done on purpose to leave the possibility open for a sequel in the future.
I would like to thank Random House for sending me a signed advance reader's edition, as Lisa See has become favorite author of mine. Additional thanks to Lisa See for helping me out of my reading slump with (2) great back-to-back novels that I really enjoyed.

Although Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel, will probably always remain at the top of my favorites list, Shanghai Girls: A Novel (which will be released on May 26, 2009) is a wonderful story as well, that comes highly recommended.
RATING - 4.5/5 - COMPLETED - 5/11/09
WHERE FROM: My Review Stacks.
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10 comments:

  1. avisannschildMay 11, 2009 at 8:39 PM

    This sounds like an intriguing book. Thanks for the review!

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  2. JoAnnMay 12, 2009 at 7:13 AM

    I'll definitely be reading this one!

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  3. UnknownMay 12, 2009 at 7:48 AM

    I got Shanghai Girls through LT Early reviewers and I hope it will be better than The Snow Flower because while I like See's writing style I wasn't very crazy about her first book. I thought it was not developed enough, it was one of those books that could have benefited from being longer instead of shorter.

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  4. bermudaonionMay 12, 2009 at 8:45 PM

    I'm really looking forward to reading this book. Great review.

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  5. Thoughts of JoyMay 13, 2009 at 7:27 AM

    I really enjoyed this one, too! :)

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  6. TaraMay 13, 2009 at 9:25 AM

    I'm avoiding your review until I'm finished with this...

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  7. MelissaMay 13, 2009 at 12:15 PM

    I've still never read a Lisa See book even though I have Snow Flower in book form and Peony in audio. Glad you enjoyed this one!

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  8. ZibileeMay 13, 2009 at 1:33 PM

    I really want to read this one. I have been seeing great reviews of it all over the place.

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  9. AnnaMay 14, 2009 at 8:36 AM

    Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'll be reading this one soon.

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  10. Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooksMay 15, 2009 at 8:48 PM

    I loved SNOWFLOWER, but haven't read PEONY or SHANGHAI GIRLS (yet!). They're on my wish list!

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