Rating: 
Summary: & Lived Happily Ever After
Review: Chinese Cinderella was a great book. Adeline Yen Mah really puts life into this book. Once I started reading it I couldn't take my hands off it. I thought it was hard-hitting and emotional. Her enduring life was painful and grueling. Imagine life without ever being loved by your parents. This book is about an unwanted daughter. They think she killed her mother because she died during child labor. Later on, the father decided to married someone else. Well, like the Cinderella story, the step mom was mean and cruel. The only place Adeline was able to go to was school but luckily Adeline liked school. No one was able to come to her house because of her parents. Chinese Cinderella made me feel how lucky I am to have a real family that cares for me and loves me. I think Adeline Yen Mah is an extraordinary person. Even though her father did not care about her, she kept her head held high, and kept on trying. This book is about trying, never to give up. Chinese Cinderella really taught me how life is and not to take advantage of it. This was a fantastic book. I hope you read it one day.
Rating: 
Summary: The Invisible Child
Review: To me, Adeline and her real siblings are nothing to their parents. Their own father doesn't even know their names; he'd probably mistake them as one of the servants or the chef's daughter. The Yen family would be 4th brother, little sister, Niang, and father. The rest of the kids were like a piece of dirt. They were never a normal family since Niang would treat her kids a lot better than her step kids and since Adeline's father didn't really care, that was the way things were.
I think it's horrible the way Adeline is treated. I mean it wasn't all her fault that her mom died two weeks after she was born. Adeline's mom could have been sick and that could've been one of the reasons she died. And Adeline is the smallest one and the smallest one is usually the most spoiled and conceited one because everyone will love and adore you since your all small and stuff but instead she got the least attention. Adeline didn't mean a lot to anyone since people thought she killed her mom. Plus Niang would never talk about her in front of people or tell them she exists. She would always be left alone in the house. The only people who really believed in her were Aunt Baba and a few of her friends. Aunt Baba was the one who taught her everything, told her to never give up and, made her the way she is now. She's the only one who has ever encouraged Adeline and that's what gave Adeline the courage to write a book about her. Even if she's famous and her life turned out great but one thing she always wanted and never got was a loving family.
Rating:
Summary: Gone With the Locusts
Review: Although the title may sound like a fairy tale about a girl and her Prince Charming, Chinese Cinderella is actually the true story of a young girl, Adeline Yen, who is more then unwanted, but forgotten, when her father remarries a cruel woman known as Niang. As the youngest out of her 5 siblings, little Adeline had only one source of sanctuary, her Aunt Baba, but Niang soon separates them. Adeline, or Wu Mei (meaning 5th youngest sister), is sent off to boarding schools and continually exceeded at the top of her class, but still could not find her way into the heart of her father, who had once forgotten her name and birth date. Books were her best friends, and her writing skills were amazing, so Adeline enters an international play-writing contest, with the title 'Gone with the Locusts' for her play, and later finds out that she had won when her father sends for her and agrees to send her to England to study at medical school. As I was reading the book, it felt like Adeline herself to having a conversation with me while sipping tea. Her words were as real as it could get, and got me to a lot of thinking. The second I finished the book; I wanted to stand up and applaud Adeline Yen Mah and the courageous young Adeline. Each chapter was a tale in itself, as my emotions built up page by page. The more neglected Adeline described herself; the more I wanted to jump into the book and rescue her from her sad childhood. The writing was amazing, and the descriptions were vivid and imaginative. Even though I could not relate, in a way I was there with her, because we've all had a moment or two feeling unwanted. A book like this really made me feel grateful and lucky for the life I have. If I could, I'd give this book an infinite amount of stars. But for the limit, I'll definitely give the book, Chinese Cinderella, 5 out of 5 shining stars. To the girl known as Adeline Yen: You go girl.
Rating:
Summary: An Unwanted Gifted Daughter
Review: The Chinese Cinderella talks about an unwanted daughter, named Adeline, not being accepted by her parents and siblings, but only her grandparents and her Aunt Baba, because her mom died when she was born. Therefore, her parents and siblings considered her as bad luck. Adeline was a gifted child, actually. She could read and write in English. When I read this book, I thought it was sad the way her family mistreated her. I also thought that it was a great book to read because it is what some teens are going through right now. It was really bad of her father to ignore her accomplishments. Her mother was even worse; she mistreated most of the Adeline's siblings. She didn't really care about what happened to her. So as to why her mother sent her to boarding school in Tianjin. Tianjin was a bad plane indeed because at that time the communists were taking over China. Adeline's brothers and sisters were a little nice to her, but they still mistreated her. No one wanted her home, except her Aunt Baba and her grandparents. This book was a great book to read.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Strength
Review: Chinese Cinderella; A Story of Strength
Chinese Cinderella is a story of a girl named Adeline who wanted nothing more than to be loved by her parents. Adeline was despised by her family members; they blamed her for her mother's death. They treated her meanly and abused her not only physically, but also mentally. They stripped her of her self-confidence, and Adeline was too weak to stick up for herself. Her only joy was her Aunt Baba and Grandfather YeYe who saw Adeline as who she really was. YeYe and Baba gave Adeline hope and self-respect. However, they couldn't give her everything. During the hardest times, Adeline had to pull through by herself. This is the story of Adeline's struggle to overcome her family's insults and appreciate herself for who she really was.
Throughout this whole story, I was overcome with so many emotions. It was the first story that made me groan with frustration out-loud in the open. I feel like I could relate to the story because she was a girl having the same problems that related to me. If a child in the same situation read this book, it could seriously change their life! Chinese Cinderella is so real and how she expressed her emotions could even make a person with a great life feel her pain.
A gripping page-turner, I would recommend the story not only for children, but for adults as well. Chinese Cinderella tells of hope, inspiration, succeeding, failing, and most of all strength. A girl's strength to pull through her struggles. It's so good that once you start, you can't put it down!
This book has actually taken a toll on me. I have realized what a great life I have! I am so lucky to have such loving parents! I hope that you read this book and I know that if you do, you will really enjoy it!
Review by: Anja
Rating:
Summary: A touching story
Review: A true story of Adeline Yen Mah's childhood as an unwanted Chinese daughter. As a child, she was raised by her loving Aunt Baba because her mother died after she gave birth to Adeline. She's blamed for her mother's death by her four siblings. When her father remarried, their new mother was a mean, sadistic woman. But she treated her two children as precious diamonds. This book is an autobiography, so it's narrated by Adeline and talks about her feelings. When I read this book, I understand how lucky I am to be loved. Adeline was mistreated by her stepmother, but she was given confidence by her Aunt Baba and her Ye Ye. Although Niang (mother in Chinese) was crushing Adeline, it makes you so mad that her father doesn't do anything about it. The emotions expressed in this book are indescribable. Beware, once you start reading this book you can't stop. I give it a 5 stars "awesome".
Rating:
Summary: the unwanted daughter
Review: Chinese Cinderella follows a girl named Adeline Yen Mah and her evil parents. This story takes place when communist were advancing south. Adeline's parents sent her north, next to where the communist were. The communist were taking over and Adeline would be a prisoner if caught! Chinese Cinderella can bring tears to your eyes and can make you mad at the same time. Adeline's parents consider Adeline as bad luck because her mom died after giving birth to her. They treat Adeline like dirt and doesn't even care if they are hurting her. How Adeline is treated can really make you mad at her parents. People who also feel like they are also being treated like dirt can really connect to this book. As for my self I really enjoyed the book and I encourage other people to read it. At first you might say "this is one boring book" but as the story progresses the story gets much better and then you just can't put it down. So overall Chinese Cinderella is a great book about a unwanted daughter who was abused the whole child life.
Rating:
Summary: That Unlucky Girl
Review: This true story of an unwanted Chinese girl gave me misery and fury about her life. Living with a family who is strict and has no love was Adeline's childhood. Her brothers and sisters picking on you for achieving a medal, parents angry for inviting friends over, and being dropped off to this unknown school as if you were nothing. This was Adeline's life. The story of "Chinese Cinderella" makes you angry and makes you sad, but all you can say is "I can't believe this just happened."
Rating:
Summary: An Unwanted Daughter
Review: Chinese Cinderella is a sad story of an unwanted daughter. Adeline Yen Mah, the author of the book, describes her sad childhood starting from day one. Everyone treated her poorly because she was considered "bad luck". At a young age, Adeline was sent to many boarding schools, and never received visits from her family members. Because she received good grades and remained the top of her class for as long as she's been in school, her father agrees and let's her attend college at the age of 14, and that's when her life turned around. Chinese Cinderella was a really sad and touching story. As Adeline describes the pain she had to go through, it felt as if it was happening to me also. It is unbelievable how cold-hearted and cruel her family was to her. Her older siblings made fun of her because she did well in school; while her younger half-siblings got everything they wanted, but Adeline got nothing at all. When I read about her pet chick, Precious Little Treasure, it angered me. PLT was almost all Adeline had, but the poor things life had to get taken away. None of what happened to her was fair, but in the long run, it made her a better and stronger person. I don't think Adeline would've been able to survive the taunts if she wasn't treated so poorly. If her home life weren't so bad, she wouldn't have had the drive to do well in everything, and be as good as she could be. Chinese Cinderella was a great inspiration. Anything can happen if you put your heart to it, and everything gets better in the end.
Rating:
Summary: Chinese Masterpiece
Review: This book that Adeleine Yen Mah wrote was a Chinese classic that will be remembered theoughout the lives of children everywhere. The relationship between Wu Mei and and Niang made me feel that I had the utmost hatred towards Niang. Wu Mei meant little to her father that she, herself, felt removed from this world. Yeye and Aunt Baba had a little bit spoiled her, but the punishment, I thought was too harsh. Separating from a person who you knew and loved was too unbearable to think.
Even these days my mother lets my friends come over, but Niang went too far when she banned Wu Mei's friends from coming over to their house. Niang didn't even care when she enrolled Wu Mei in a convent school in Tianjin when the Communists were taking over. All that time her father stuck up to Niang saying that everything she did was for the best.
This book made feel me sorrowful and mad especially at Niang who treated her children in one way and her step children in another.
|
