Rating: 
Summary: Reviewers' comments
Review: "A wonderful book. The Lost Daughters of China is not only an evocative memoir on East-West adoption, but a bridge to East-West understanding of human rights in China. Evans' discussion of the economic and cultural pressures that affect Chinese families is well researched, intelligent, and balanced. Moreover, she provides a thoughtful view on what parents must convey with regard to the dual legacies of their adopted child."--Amy Tan "Exceptional, gutsy, and very well written." --Anchee Min, Red Azalea "Powerful. Each page of this book was stained by my tears. Important. The Lost Daughters of China is not simply a journey of a child, a man and woman, but history of cultural mixing at the end of the millennium." --Belle Yang, BaBa, A Return to China Upon My Father's Shoulders "A 'superfluous girl' myself, I am deeply moved by this book. The Lost Daughters of China is written with loving care and deserves the attention of everyone who wants to understand what the human heart cries for." --Hong Ying, Daughter of the River "Lyrically written, precisely observed, and emotionally evocative, The Lost Daughters of China is a cross cultural adventure of the soul. Did I tear up a little reading it? Yeah, a little. But I laughed in equal measure. Evans is simply dazzling." --Tim Cahill "In this balanced account of the extraordinarily complex issues involving the lost daughters of China, Evans is respectful of the Chinese, of adoptive parents, and of the rights of women. She is a wise, great-hearted woman who writes from both a personal and a cultural perspective. As I read this book, I thought of so many friends who would love it. I believe you will love it too." Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia. "There has been much press about rescuing (adopting) baby girls from China's oppressive sociopolitical climate, but little about the women and men who are losing their daughters. Here, Evans gives us a whole story, both moving and jarring. This is the book I have been waiting to see." Jan Waldron, author of Giving Away Simone "Breathtaking-an unforgettable story. The Lost Daughters of China describes not only the tragedy of social engineering, but the healing power of a mother's love." Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking. --
Rating: 
Summary: Three and a half stars
Review: "The Lost Daughters of China," by Karin Evans deals with Evans personal account of what she and her husband, Mark, went through in order to adopt their daughter, Kelly, from China. As one can imagine, there were tons of paperwork to muddle through on top of an extremely long waiting period. In addition to her personal account, Evans did a nice job of explaining the situation in China, whereby the one-child-only policy is being practiced and the impacts it has on the Chinese people, particularly girls who were abandoned. Besides that, Evans also provided historical background revolving the Chinese people who placed enormous emphasis on boys whom they believed will "continue" the family line.
One of the things I like about this book is that Evans provided sources for all her statistics. I think it is important that these data are supported to make a strong argument. In addition, I also like the fact that she provided meaningful remarks from various authors and scholars which was thought-provoking. That being said, I do think there are a few weaknesses in this book. Evans have a tendency to repeat herself throughout the entire book and that her book lacks a certain structure. I think the book could be better structured and organized to avoid repetitions. In addition, I think Evans to a certain extent romanticized the mothers who left their daughters behind. She was speculating on how the mother of her adopted daughter would feel, and so on. I thought that was unnecessary as it was pure speculation. Overall, I gave it a three and a half stars because I thought the book did provide some valuable and interesting information on adoption but I think the book was too long for what Evans wanted to convey.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book on the Subject of Chinese Adoption I've Found
Review: "The Lost Daughters of China" covers a wide range of issues that contribute to the sad phenomena of selective sex abortion, infanticide, and child abandonment in China both historically and in particular today. Author Karin Evans' anecdotes are touching and often haunting, and her sources numerous and informative. This is by far the best-written book I've found on the subject to date, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Chinese culture, especially parents of children from China.
Rating:
Summary: Heartwrenching Yet Inspiring...
Review: ...That's how I would describe this wonderful book. My heart ached at the stories the author told (both real and supposition on her part). As a woman and mother, I wept for the facts, statistics and harsh realities. As a parent about to adopt internationally, it galvanized my spirit and buried my misgivings. This book is not a how-to manual. It will not instruct you on when to tell your child about adoption, how to do it, or how to handle potential problems of race, identity, attachment, etc. What it WILL do, however, is touch your soul, and--hopefully--bring you the kind of emotional clarity I found after reading it. For that reason alone, it should be a part of every human being's library. I even gave this book to my mom, hoping she might gain some insight to my feelings about wanting to adopt internationally. She LOVED the book and couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: A Book Appealling for both the Adoptive Parent and Scholar
Review: A talented writer and editor, Karin Evans has written an incredible book of her personal journey of adopting a year old girl from China. While the story is intensely emotional, Evans still manages to intersperse her personal experience with well-researched (the text is footnoted) commentary and reflection on the history of China's reproductive policy and the historical/cultural attitudes towards women. She does an amazing job since many books and articles on China and its "one-child" policy tend to be either very "pro" or villify China's attempts to control population. Evans presents a surprisingly complete picture with factual evidence of abuses of Chinese women via the government presented concurrently with empathetic views of the cultural legacy and how the current government policy is fighting thousands of years of sexist history. I think this book has appeal to both the adult considering adoption as well as anyone interested on the widescale implications of this complex situation in China.
Rating:
Summary: Adequate, but somewhat disappointing
Review: Adoptive parents of girls from China are so hungry for informationthat they have seized on this book as if it were their Bible. Am I theonly one who found it disappointing? (I have two daughters fromChina.) It's an odd blend of memoir, fact, and speculation that doesnot after all tell us much about these girls' "missingpast." I don't need to read afictional account of the feelings that may have gone through mychildren's birthmothers' minds as they left their babies behind; I canconjure that for myself.This book has a place on adoptive parents' bookshelves,but it is *not* the definitive book on adoption from China. That bookhas yet to be written.
Rating:
Summary: The Lost Daughters of China
Review: Anyone contemplating an international adoption should read this book! As a matter of fact, my husband and I are waiting for our referral and are making this required reading for our daughters future Grandparents. Later in life when our daugher questions her roots, we hope to reference passages from Karin Evans'depiction of the daughers of china.
Rating:
Summary: The Lost Daughters of China
Review: As the grandmother of an adopted Chinese four year old, I treasure this book for the evocative way the author told of her feelings about her journey to China to get her daughter, so much like my own daughter's story, so much like my own feelings. In addition to the emotional pull of the story, however, is the intelligent approach explaining this socio-cultural phenomenon. Evans' research is thorough, bringing together many facets of a complicated situation. She is an advocate for parents and their daughters, whether the parents are American or Chinese.
Rating:
Summary: Must Read for Families Who are Adopting From China
Review: Evans combines her personal journey that led her to adopt a girl from China with statistics and facts about why these girls are in orphanages in the first place. I disagree with many of the reviewers who say that this book is schmaltzy. It is one of those books that you just don't want to put down. We are in the midst of adopting from China and it was wonderful to read about Evan's experience. We have given this book to aunts and uncles of our soon to be daughter and everyone has been glad to have read it for they learned a lot. It dispelled a lot of myths that they had about China and adoption.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, touching book! The best book I've read this year.
Review: I absolutely love this book. My husband and I have begun the international adoption process for a child from China, and this book helped us during our decision. The author meshes her own story with information about her daughter's culture and country in a graceful manner. I'm buying several for friends to help them understand international adoption from China.
| 
