Rating: 
Summary: facinating and appalling
Review: This book describes the very difficult life of a chinese girl coming of age at a time of very momentous change in China, both politically and culturally. One can't but help feel great sympathy for this little girl who through no fault of her own suffers greatly at the hands of an incredibly viscious step mother and a father who, while succesful in the business world, is content to sit back and allow his children from his first marriage to be abused by this sick person. The story also glimpses into the many changes taking place in China in the latter half of the 20th century and its impact of those living through it. However, I found the jumping back and forth in time frames in describing historical events somehat hard to follow at times. While I sympathized greatly with the travails of Adeline, towards to end of the book it started to seem a little self serving. How was it that she was to good and everyone else so bad. Her step mother was the devil incarnate! While I understand that there are cultural differences in western and chinese thinking on family issues, I couldn't help wondering why she continued to seek contact with people who wronged her so greatly. Since she was so successful in her own professional and marital life, why was it so important for her to be names it her parents' wills. Indeed, after she found out that her step mother with the collusion of her sister, why wasn't she on the first plan back to the United States rather than hanging around Hong Kong trying to plumb the depths of of how much she had been wronged? There is something about this that sound distinctly masochistic. But then again, this may represent deep cultural differences. To my western mind it would seem that Adeline being a medical professional would have sought therapy to help her deal with all of this.
Rating: 
Summary: NO LOYALTY IN THIS FAMILY
Review: It is hard not to be empathetic to Adeline Yen Mah's plight as an unwanted Chinese daughter. Adeline's mother dies giving birth to her and thus begins her tormented life in which she is tagged as "bad luck" and consequently "unwanted". Her father, who is extremely proficient in business matters, lacks a true backbone where his children are concerned. Upon the death of his wife, he marries again to the beautiful Eurasian Jeanne Prosperi, whom the children are told to call Niang, a Chinese term for mother. Joseph and Jeanne have two children of their own who are the "chosen" ones while Adeline and her siblings become the "stepchildren". This book chronicles her life in China as well as her trip to America where she studies to become a doctor. While the story is sad, my feeling throughout was that it could be much worse. Her father is ruled by the despicable Niang yet manages to send some of his children abroad for their education, paying for it in its entirety. Besides the problems Adeline encountered with her stepmother, the problems she faced with her own siblings could be deemed even worse. Since Niang was afraid that they would all eventually unite against her, she made sure they were never loyal to each other as well. I think this is the part of the story that I found the most hurtful. Her siblings were her blood yet, as hard as she tried, she couldn't even make them happy or want her. A truly sad tale....
Rating:
Summary: The other side of the story
Review: After reading Adeline's book, I felt so sorry for her. I, however, felt just as sorry for all her family members. Adeline certainly did not get the love and care that she would love to receive. One must understand that during those times and under those circumstances Adeline was considered living in haven. School was extremely expensive and a privilege in those times. And, she kept reminding us that her classmates were from rich and powerful families. Her father and step mother must have been extraordinary people, to be able to send all seven children to these schools. They must have gone through a lot to be able to survive the war and support a family of eleven that consists of three generations. Adeline, on the other hand, was just a defiant and rebellious little girl who did not know how to show her love and respect to her family and did not receive any in return. It was a tragic. We can blame these to the hard times. In my opinion, this book should have been kept unpublished until all family members have passed away.
Rating:
Summary: Falling Leaves
Review: Falling Leaves is the memoir of an emotionally abused girl, at every disadvantage in her dysfunctional family, who fervently fights to live and tell all. Set in the turbulent atmosphere of the 20th Century, Falling Leaves follows the story of Adeline, whose birth ended in the death of her mother, who struggles under the domineering control of her cruel Eurasian stepmother, Niang. Throughout her childhood and even her adulthood, Adeline is affected by Niang's manipulating machinations.
Author Adeline Yen Mah has succeeded in creating a both a poignant and inspirational story and an epic historical documentation of a female growing up in Communist China. With Mah's vivide descriptions, the sights and sounds of the foreign sounding towns and streets of China come alive. The reader can imagine Shanghai: a city at its peak with lights, sounds, and prosperity. But on the other hand, Mah makes it easy to visualize the harsh realities and clashing resentment that radiates from young Adeline. One thing Mah fails to do is touch upon the political turmoil in China during this time. Although her purpose was not to call upon these changes, they are an important part of Chinese history which would give the reader more perspective.
Mah's story of survival has brought up a wide gamut of different responses. Some readers voraciously read Falling Leaves and eagerly waited for the sequel, while others deemed the book whiny and a story of self-pittance. While inspirational to a point, Falling Leaves seems to reveal a bit too much about the Yen family. For Mah, writing may have been cathartic, but for her siblings, this book may only have brought up a past they wanted to forget.
Rating:
Summary: It was kind of neat
Review: My opinion of this book was that it was alittle alright if you love to cry. But then many parts of it seemed to be alittle to farfetched. Like how she cried because all she cared about was to be accepted by her father when she lost everything. Even though that is the right thing, she acted alittle to "good" and it was just annoying. She wouldn't admit that she was actually hurt that she didn't get that ownership to what her father had left her. But then she could've been AT least telling us that she wanted those things. But then what I had just said was a bit too mean. But sort of true. Plus the fact that if you read this book you would JUST have to give sympathy to her and her childhood. For since she had been through something so rough and hard that you could not believe it. Awesome. Just simply. Awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: Falling Leaves is an account of Adeline Yen Mah's fight through life. The real story begins when Adeline's mother dies as a result of her birth. All of the original Yen siblings lead a good life until their father Joseph decided to remarry a beautiful French/Chinese woman, Niang. Niang seems to come from the pits of hell. Although they were an affluent family, the children rarely saw any money, and the money they did see, they had to beg for. It rips your heart out when you see how badly the original Yen siblings are treated, especially little Adeline. The unfairness of it all just makes you want to scream and thank your own mother and father for all that they have done for you. The children must beg for tram fare, good food, and love. At one time or another, Niang and Joseph favor all the children. Well . . . all but Adeline. After a while, even the grandfather Ye Ye (the patriarch) must beg to Niang for money, whereas in a traditional Chinese family, the patriarch reigns. Blow after blow comes Adeline's way. She really is a modern day Chinese Cinderella, except that it seems her Prince will never come to sweep her away. This novel is very engaging and it only took me a day or so to read it. Not that it's an easy read; it's just so engrossing that you forget to put it down! I highly recommend this novel. It makes you appreciate what you have with your own family and friends. Adeline Yen Mah is right up there with the likes of Amy Tan in Chinese American literature. Unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: Falling Leaves : The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
Review: If you believe your parents have mistreated you by cutting your allowances and grounding you for a week for "forgetting" about curfew, Adeline Yen Mah's memoir, Falling Leaves, is the autobiography for you to read while sulking in your bedroom mourning over the loss of your social life. This chronologically organized autobiography is compiled of outrageous events of physical and emotional abuse experienced by Adeline Yen Mah as a child and an adult through people ranging from her stepmother to her first husband. Growing up in China as the youngest illegitimate child in the 1930's, she continuously suffered from the deprivation of a loving family. After her mother¡¦s death, her father re-married a nefarious woman and formed a household where illegitimate children were often abused and their needs disregarded. For example, Adeline was used by her older brother as a ¡§punching bag to vent his frustration,¡¨ (p.35). She was only allowed to eat leftovers and she was not permitted to invite friends over. Punishments for violating the family rules went as far as being sent off to an orphanage for two years where her stepmother forbade anyone contact her. She continued on a quest for love from her family throughout the autobiography, however, was continuously rejected and discouraged. As the autobiography progressed, she eventually attended college in the United States. Now the conflict is whether or not she is able to exit the shadows of her younger years after growing up in such a family. Has her past given her with such a weak foundation that she would forever by haunted by the idea that she will never find love or affection?
The main characters in this autobiography include Adeline¡¦s maternal siblings Gregory, Edgar, James, and Lydia, who generally ignored Adeline. Niang, Adeline¡¦s Eurasian stepmother who longed for control within the family by harshly monitoring the actions and choices made often psychically and emotionally abused Adeline. Adeline¡¦s father tended to express admiration towards Adeline at the start, but ceased to do so due to Niang¡¦s intimidating domination and constant ideas of ¡§disciplining¡¨ Adeline. Characters such as Adeline¡¦s first husband, Byron, who apparently failed appreciate her also enter occasionally into the story and add to Adeline¡¦s feeling of discouragement for affection. This autobiography unveiled my eyes to a new world where sources of love, appreciation, belonging, and hope were scarce. However, I think Yen Mah became a bit repetitive in the middle of the autobiography, as she tends to repeats the injustices committed towards her as if to refresh our memory. Apart from this, I recommend this autobiography to anyone who has enjoyed other autobiographies about self hope such as A Child Called ¡¥It¡¦, by David Pelzer. Falling Leaves provide insight on values possessed by many Chinese families and how their children were affected by it. I also recommend this to anyone who wishes to gain insight on Chinese history, as it includes events from World War 1 to The Cold War and how society was impacted by it.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful But Sad Story
Review: It is one of my dreams to adopt a baby girl from China. I think it is because of this that I read a lot of stories about unwanted and/or orphaned Asian children. I actually read Chinese Cinderella, a smaller version of this book, before I read Falling Leaves. I prefer Falling Leaves simply because there's more of it. And Chinese Cinderella ends before Adeline grew up and began to believe her life was precious, which very few people had told her during her childhood.
I cried when I read this book. It was not that she was a terribly abused child; she was quite simply unwanted and unloved. On the outside, to an outsider, it wouldn't really look like abuse. But to a little girl, it was devastating. Nobody, with the exception of her aunt, cared about her feelings at all.
The one thing I wanted to do while reading this book was to adopt Adeline and give her all the love and attention and care she was so hungry for.
Rating: 
Summary: Stuff of fairy tales
Review: Without a doubt, Adeline Mah's memoir is punctuated with disturbing details of a step mother'cruelty and hunger for power, and a family that succumbed and then participated in her emotional abuse. While I sympathize with the author's past plight, about one third into the book until the end, I began having difficulties with the way the story was being told. The characters in the book were not real to me, because everyone is either black or white, good or evil. The author herself is clothed in the glowing light of her wonderful deeds. While most other characters in the book become greedy, selfish, and vengeful, she is practically the only one who remains generous and kind. I'm not saying that the author doesn't possess those characteristics. Still, I have difficulty in believing in characters where those who are "good" don't possess what would be considered "bad" characteristics, and those who are "evil" seem to have no redeeming qualities at all (i.e. step mom, older sister, etc).
Another aspect that began making me wonder at the author's rendition of her childhood is the emotions and lack of negative emotions that she displays. The author lists her fears and the ill-treatment she received while she was young. But she doesn't talk about being angry or bitter or wanting to hurt her step mom. Wouldn't that be a more natural reaction to the abuses she endured? But the reader never reads those things. Perhaps the author never had those feelings? Not once? I'm not introducing the idea that the author should add to the litany of abuses she endured another list of when she was angry, BUT the absence of even an iota of such emotion makes me wonder. After all, I as a reader was angry that someone could be treated in such a way. I wouldn't have decried the author for having some angry thoughts at her ill treatment. At least the character would seem a little more real to me. It is sad that the author had to endure emotional and mental trauma at the hands of her family. However, my question is how much of it is true, what is left out, and what is being exaggerated, because ultimately people aren't just pure good and pure evil, or never angry and selfish or only scheming and bitter. As humans, we have the potential to be generous, loving, kind and to be bad, greedy, selfish, and vengeful. And we have the ability to learn and grow from our mistakes and hopefully do better. If the author had represented the story in a different way (because it seems that she does want to show the potential that one human being can have) instead of listing her traumas and good deeds and also all the bad deeds of most of the people around her, then I would not be left questioning the authenticity of her story. Pure good and pure evil are the stuff in fair tales, not real life.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but a one-sided story
Review: This book is well-written and captivating. The descriptions of turmoil in China seen thru the eyes of a child are interesting. All children are self-centered and feel neglected to some extent, but she makes a strong Cinderella case. However, we read just one side of the story. As she reaches adulthood, we see many signs that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree": she dumps the university researcher and first husband when their usefulness is spent, buys a new Mercedes on impulse, fights with siblings over the estate, etc. The abused become the abusers.
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