I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on 2010
Genres: 20th Century, Asian American, Family, Historical, Mysteries & Detective Stories, People & Places, United States, Young Adult
Pages: 215
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Maggie Chen was born with ink in her blood. Her journalist father has fired her imagination with the thrill of the newsroom, and when her father is killed, she is determined to keep his dreams alive by interning at the local newspaper. While assisting on her first story, Maggie learns that her father is suspected of illegal activity, and she knows she must clear his name. Drawn to Seattle’s Chinatown, she discovers things that are far from what she expected: secrets, lies, and a connection to the Chinese Exclusion Era. Using all of her newspaper instincts and resources, Maggie is forced to confront her ethnicity—and a family she never knew.
Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold is a story of family. It follows Maggie Chen, an average high school girl, living an average life until one day, while going through her father’s last effects she uncovers a piece of information which sets her world spinning. Coupled with this information is the possibility that her father may have been involved with some shady business. Oh, and did I mention Maggie is interning at the local newspaper? She’s totally in for a crazy summer.
I devoured Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold. It had a slight air of mystery, intermingling with flashbacks from the past, the Chinese Exclusion Act. Pieces of information were dangled in small bits, and I found them to be rather tantalizing. I suppose it was compelling in the way that a scandal is compelling, you just want to know, because of the DRAMZ. (I’m pretty big on drama, dontcha know)
I wanted to know Maggie’s story. I wanted to know where she came from and what the deal with her father was. Maggie, I felt, was courageous, intelligent, and a strong character. Plus, I like seeing YA characters with cars not being shuttled around by the parents. Overall, the cast of characters in Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold were well fleshed out. One of the other interns, Jillian, is wicked annoying, but we do find out just why she’s so grating, and we see that she’s got layers, like an onion, or a ogre. The flashback characters were very intriguing. I loved that subplot, as that is where the pacing was the fastest, plus I’m a bit of a history nerd.
Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold is a short read and perfect if you want to lounge around with a contemporary book on a slow afternoon.
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Looks great. I'll have to look into getting a copy!
Sounds awesome! I'm definitely going to have to try this one! 🙂
This sounds fab. I'm a bit of a history nerd at times too, and I love me some family dramas. I'll look out for this one.
Ohman, this sounds totally awesome! I love books that involve any kind of Asian history (or really history period), and I also love books htat revolve around family drama! Going to have to see if I can find a copy!
This book sounds really good! I'm sure we're going to be hearing about it lots in the next couple months. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it.
I haven't seen this book around the blogosphere but thanks for your review April! Very excited to get my hands on this! =D
Thanks for linking to my review – this is a fantastic book and I’m glad to see it getting out there for people to see.