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Aug 09, 2011

Kwesi 章英狮 rated it:

Every country and every people that resides have different culture and have different story to tell. From the most depressing experience of their lives from most unforgettable moments they felt in their childhood. But how can they manage to express and treasure those experiences forever? Some people write them on their journals or diaries, some record it through tapes and CDs, some tell their past lives from their grandsons and few write and compile their stories into a book.

Adeline More...

10 comments like (20 people liked it)

Apr 11, 2008

Laura rated it:

What is really shocking about this book is to read about the abuse of a child (the author) at the hands of her truly wicked stepmother and sadistic father (well, the stepmother is sadistic, too, so they're a perfect pair), and then to get to the middle of the book and actually see photos of these horrible people. It made my blood boil. Adeline Yen Mah's story, however, is about a child's attempts to navigate an abusive household situated in Chine during and after World War II. As she matures, More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2008

Simone rated it:

I found this book pretty easy to read and the story was reasonably engaging, but in an age where biographies abound, this one didn't feel particularly special. Sure, the things that happened to her were sad, but in the end not outrageously tragic. She overcame great odds to become the person she is today ... but the story didn't stand out. It's also written a little too simply for my taste - I guess because it's a teen book. It didn't transfer well as an adult reader. But for young teens reading More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 10, 2008

June rated it:

I also read Falling Leaves by the same author. It seems to be a retelling of the same story. The author recounts the cruelty she suffered as an outcast daughter who is blamed for her mother's death. She is treated like a second class citizen by her siblings, her father and her new step mother. I found the details about life during WWII interesting. While not quite as brutal as some other memoirs that come to mind, such as Bastard out of Carolina, it conveys what it feels like to be an unloved ch More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 23, 2008

Kendra rated it:

Kendra Guo 904
12/22/08

Chinese Cinderella
The true story of an unwanted daughter
By Adeline Yen Mah
205pp. New York, New York
Dell Laurel-Leaf. $6.50 US
ISBN 00-440-22865-4

Adeline Yen Mah’s novel, Chinese Cinderella, tells a story about her as a young girl, Adeline struggles for the attention and affection from her father and family. The Chinese Cinderella was a really touching and interesting story. If you could relate you migh More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 24, 2008

Jinbin rated it:

"Chinese Cinderella" happens to be a true story about the author's own childhood experience. During her childhood, which takes time in the 1930s to 1940s, she was viewed as an unwanted and unimportant person to her family. Her aunt and grandpa and third brother were the only ones that wanted to support her, but couldn't help much. She puts herself into her studies and earned lots of honors. Her family, mostly her stepmother, has given her an unbearable childhood in which she could neve More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 23, 2007

Huiling_mei rated it:

This was a very touching story about a young girl name Wu Mei. After her mother's death her father have remarried to a cruel woman. And this was her stepmother. Her stepmother is very harsh on Wu Mei, Wu Mei is abused by her stepmother and her father does not really know. Her stepmother wiped her for going to a friend's birthday party. Wu Mei is the youngest out of her brother and sisters she has 5 other siblings. She was a very intelligence girl in her school. She has really good grades an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 07, 2007

Maddy rated it:

"Sejak kecil, Adeline Yen atau Yen Jun Ling dianggap sebagai pembawa sial karena ibunya meninggal saat melahirkan dirinya. Tidak ada yang menyayanginya, kecuali kakek-nenek, Kakak Laki-laki Ketiga (walaupun sembunyi2) dan Bibi Baba. Dia mengalami kekerasan emosional dari Ayah, Niang (ibu tiri), Kakak Perempuan Sulung, Kakak Laki-laki Pertama dan Kedua, juga Adik Laki-laki Keempat. Walaupun begitu, Adeline tidak patah semangat dan terus berprestasi agar dia bisa meraih impiannya, yaitu kasih More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2011

Margaux rated it:

I think that this was a good book because the story is very interesting but it is sad in some parts; and i personally do not like sad books. The story is very sad and it is hard to realize that it actually happened but after reading it you realize how lucky you are.
I say if you like sad books, this is a perfect book for you and if you don't like sad books, you should still read it but read a happy, cheesy book at the same time.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 26, 2011

Amber rated it:

It's been years since I read this, so long in fact that I think it was my mom who read it to me. But even all these years later I still remember stark, sad images that it conjured up in my young mind and that to me is the power of a good book. You may forget the details, as I have but it forms your opinions, your views, your outlook in the most subtle ways. Maybe I'm crediting to much to this book or sidetracking slightly but getting back, it's well worth picking up.( I just wish I could find my More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 11, 2008

Avigail rated it:

Very storg book. Chinese Cinderella is a heart-wrenching and sorrowful tale of a young girl growing up in a classic Cinderella setting. Treated harshly by her step-mother and ignored by her father, Adeline's life seems doomed to perpetual sadness. Every time something arrives to lighten up her life, it is taken away from her. She has to deal with loneliness and despair, but throughout the story she never gives up hope, that someday, somehow, things will get better.

Quote: "Please More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

Nicole rated it:

Janet L.: I picked up Chinese Cinderella at my high school library. The Chinese Cinderella is a true story about an unwanted daughter. Adeline grows up with her step mother and father in the Shanghai. Adeline’s mother died during her birth and her family looks at her as a disgrace to the family, considering her bad luck; they never forgave her. She lives with her step brother and sister and her two brothers and older sister. Even though she has issues at home, every year she was always at the t More...

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Jan 19, 2012

Kikuko rated it:

The author's shorter autobiography focusing on her young life, this is a quick read. Though I had already read a few of her other books, I was pleased to see that this didn't feel like a rehash, and that her additions of Chinese characters for important names (with the use of parentheses) were not overly intrusive; though I found myself wishing a bit for a clearer typeface. As someone with a BA in Japanese language, I was able to read them and infer the reasons they were there specifically--in p More...

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Dec 26, 2011

Issy rated it:

This book was a thrilling story about an unwanted girl. I was quiet amazed that I liked this book but it told me many lessons and things to consider. Adeline Yen Mah's short biography told the reader about her story and childhood neglect. She wrote this for other neglected children and simply to get out her feelings.

When Adeline Yen Mah was born her mother passed away, from then on Adeline was considered the unwanted child and the misfortune to the family. As well as this, the father More...

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Dec 04, 2011

Shang-chi rated it:

This book was an autobiography about growing girl in China. It narrates her life and she lived a difficult one as she was always hated by her parents. What I liked about the book was how much emotion and effort the author has made into the book. You could feel like she was right next to you and I don’t like to admit it but it could make me emotional at some times. There was absolutely nothing I disliked about the book. The book made me sad at times and I could sometimes feel myself hands shake a More...

0 comments like

Nov 02, 2011

Elena rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like

Oct 14, 2011

Madeline rated it:

Chinese Cinderella is about an unwanted daughter in China. This book is an autobiography. I think the author wrote about her childhood to inform others how lucky they really are to be wanted as a child and to show her troubles and issues. I also believe the author wrote this book to tell the world a little bit about her family history. It tells a lot of information about her family, it even has some picture.
The theme of Chinese Cinderella is never taking anything for granted. You should More...

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Oct 09, 2011

Sulemma rated it:

Chinese Cindererella is about a young girl that had a very tough child hood. Adeline being the author and narrtor of the book, explains how her stepmother (Nai-Nai) makes her life miserable. Being blamed for her mothers death, sent to an orphanage during the World War and the French taking over their country, envyed by her 4 older brothers becuase of her intelligence towards school. And most importantly being forgotten and ignored by her father. Adeline struggles for the love, attention and supp More...

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Sep 19, 2011

Jemma rated it:

"I thought this book was the best book I ever read. The thought about that poor girl being left behind doing everything on her own and being treated poorly and very excluded from her family.The reason she is not welcomed to the family is because when she was born, her mother died of child bed fever and the blame was always pout on her. They blamed her because the Chinese prefer boys to girls and because she was a nobody go them and useless. She proved them all wrong when she topped her grad More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Teuntje rated it:

Chinese cinderella

Author: Adeline Yen Mah

Type of book: autobiography

Review: When Yen Jun-ling was born her mother died. Her whole family (three brother's- one sister- her dad -her step mother and her step brother and sister) keeps on telling her she caused her mother's death.And that's how she grew up with the idea that she was responsible for her mother's death. For example her dad tells her ''If you weren't born your mother would be still alive''. And her third br More...

1 comment like

Sep 11, 2011

Jemma rated it:

I thought this book was the best book I ever read. The thought about that poor girl being left behind doing everything on her own and being treated poorly and very excluded from her family.The reason she is not welcomed to the family is because when she was born, her mother died of child bed fever and the blame was always pout on her. They blamed her because the Chinese prefer boys to girls and because she was a nobody go them and useless. She proved them all wrong when she topped her grades and More...

0 comments like

Aug 24, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Wu Mei or Adeline (her English name) was the youngest of five siblings, born into a wealthy family in Communist China. Because her mother died giving birth to her, Adeline is considered bad luck by her family. Her father remarries a woman named Niang, and they have two children together, who are spoiled rotten. Adeline and her original siblings are often neglected and ignored. Niang controls the family dynamics and she's decided that Adeline is not worth much of anything. Adeline's great au More...

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Jun 24, 2011

Hnorman is currently reading it

I'll come and revise this after I've finished, but a few chapters in I was so surprised by this book that I came to read reviews and see what other peoples' reactions were. This book takes place during the Japanese occupation of China during WWII. While this is mentioned, and the family voluntarily relocates to escape financial pressure from the occupiers, it is not a major driving force.

While it is true that she was emotionally abused and treated poorly by members of her family at More...

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May 21, 2011

Melody rated it:

This is a book I got lost in for a bit, losing track of current time and space while I visited China for a few hours. Until I read this book I had not visited the wealthy parts of China. It was a fascinating view. This book is evidence that people need love and care, that having their basic needs met is not enough. It is proof that if one has love and care, material things don't matter so much. I finished it feeling more grateful for my life circumstances. Nevertheless, I could not help f More...

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May 10, 2011

Iskreads rated it:

Imagine how your life would be if you were unwanted. In the book Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah describes how thoughout her childhood she was unwanted and unloved. The story takes place in China, 1941, during Communist rule. Her family believes that she is bad luck because her mother died giving birth to her. Adeline’s father remarries and it is very clear that her stepmother, Naing, strongly dislikes her. Adeline struggles for acceptance and has to overcome everything to prove her worth.
More...

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May 06, 2011

Sultana rated it:

The first time I read this book, I wsa in the fourth grade. I know I loved it then, because I never forgot it, and I always searched for it and mentioned it to everyone. Then, I found it in my school's library this year and I checked it out. It was even better this time! I really loved this book. It was so sad. I felt so bad for poor Adeline. And I loved her little duckling, PLT. Her whole life story fascinated me, and it still does. I greatly respect her for being able to live through all that More...

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May 03, 2011

Donna rated it:

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah was an odd read. The story was very depressing and extremely one sided and very focused on the narrator (the author). The story follows Adeline’s life from 4 years old to 14, throughout the story she is emotionally abused and suffers because she is the least favored out of 7 children.

and yet

she’s smart, respected by her classmates and teachers, and in the end she gets sent to school in England, whi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 24, 2011

REbecca added it

This book is the story of a little girl, Adeline, whose mother died while she was giving birth to her. Because of this, she is unwanted and blamed for her mother's death. All her siblings despise her and her own father doesn't even take much notice of her. He doesn't even remember her birthday. Her only real ally is her Aunt Ba Ba after her Nai Nai dies. Adeline is shipped and moved around throughout her life. She finds a safe haven at school among her friends, who know nothing about her past an More...

1 comment like

Mar 10, 2011

Morgan added it

School, reading, homework, can you imagine if that was your safe haven, a place you went to just to get away from everything else? Well thats what it was like for Adeline. Adeline has a big sister and three brothers. Right after Adeline was born their mother died. They told Adeline that it was her fault their mother died and they neglected her in any way possible. Non the less, it didn't help that their father remarried an nasty, disrespectful lady they had to call Niang, chinese for mother. Ade More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Kaila rated it:

I thought this book was simply a heart moving story that to be honest, well made me cry. In fact every time I read this book I cannot help but become overwhelm. The title does suite the book , and you can guess how it goes . The main character is a lil girl whom is the 5th child to be born and basically unwanted and unloved. Her family believes she also bad luck because the mother died shortly after giving birth to her and her siblings don’t hesitate to reminder it’s her fault. Its soon become More...

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