The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B Moore

Theodene Allen

May 26

I'm my quest to catch up on my NetGalley reading, I decided to start in chronological order starting with the oldest publication date. The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B Moore seemed to be next in line. My late mother loved reading anything to do with Asia or Asian people. She would have devoured this book way faster than me!

The "paper daughters" are the Chinese girls who left their families, with the promise of a rich husband in America. Most often there was no wealthy man waiting for her on the other side of the ocean. Sometimes the young girls were abducted from their homes in China. Basically, their "ownership" is on paper, therefore "paper daughters."

Most often, these girls would arrive in America, particularly in San Francisco, and treated as slaves. They were trafficked, abused, and starved. These gurls were told if they didn't obey their masters, their family in China would pay and their ancestors would come after their souls.

There was a Scottish woman Chinatown knew as the "white devil" who went with an interpreter and often a few officers to rescue girls who wanted to escape the abuse. Sometimes the girls would thrive under Dolly's care while other times the girls might willingly return to their slave owner. All the girls in Dolly's care would be well fed, learned skills like cooking and sewing, and many were there to help the others heal from their trauma.

At first, learning all this dark history of Chinatown squeezed the life out of my heart. So many girls were wrongfully treated and the American government turned their heads from what was really happening to these young girls. As part Chinese myself, this is history that isn't surprising, but it has been hidden from most.

If it wasn't for this book, I would never have known how horrific life was for so many Chinese girls. As much as I wanted to tuck this book away and avoid the heartbreak of the sufferings these young girls went through, I am very glad Heather B Moore write this book. Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain for making The Paper Daughters of Chinatown available. I give this work 5 out of 5 tiaras!