Chinese Cinderella

This is a sad book, and there is no doubt that the emotional torture the author was put through as a child is appalling. However the saddest part for me is that Adeline's story is probably far from uncommon, and possibly could have been a lot worse. She was born into a wealthy Chinese family, the fifth child (second sister), and her birth resulted in the death of her mother. Her father quickly remarried, and his new wife produced another boy and a girl.
In this sibling setup, Adeline ranked last, without doubt. The only sibling who gave her any sort of friendship or comfort was the third brother, a little older than her.
Her stepmother is the stereotypical evil stepmother, who feels no emotional bond to her, and considers her a hindrance.
The book covers Adeline's early life, and ends with her on a ship on her way to England to attend university. The mere fact she has been schooled, and is sent to university and not married off to a 40 year old man suggests her unfortunate childhood could have been a whole lot worse. Luckily for her there was an Aunt and a grandfather who looked after her interests, and although they were quite powerless in the scheme of things.
This book covers the same ground as her ‘Falling leaves', although I think this one is targeted at a younger audience - the writing and themes are very simple, even laboured at times, which would suggest it is aimed at YA. It has been a number of years since I read Falling Leaves, but I think the her childhood up to University age occupies about a third of that book.