The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
Publisher Information: New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2019
Summary: Jo Kwan works as a lady's maid while living in an underground secret room under the local newspaper owner's house. At night, she writes a column anonymously as Miss Sweetie, answering an advice column that normally answers questions about getting stains out of dresses and how to handle oneself socially. Jo starts answering the letters more honestly, using the woman's suffrage movement to spur her independent and forward-thinking ideas. Can a young Chinese woman help change the mindset of the townspeople? Or will she stay silenced and in the shadows for self-preservation?
Book Trailer:
Read-a-Likes:
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Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly
Links of Interest:
Author website: staceyhlee.com
Educator's guide: HERE
History Channel's Building the Transcontinental Railroad: How 20,000 Chinese Immigrants Made It Happen: HERE
Chinese-American Women and the Suffrage Movement: HERE
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