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The book was the best book I have read in a long time. I would definetly recommend Fifth Chinese Daughter to anyone who is interested in life in Chinatown in the 1940's. I am recommending the novel because it is a book that anyone can read and can enjoy.


The Fifth Chinese Daughter Review   August 24, 2002
Jade Snow Wong learned to be her best and independent at a very young age. She and her typical Chinese family of the 1930's and `40's lived in Chinatown, San Francisco. There was no goofing around in her family household. Jade Snow wasn't even considered an individual. Women were nothing compared to men, in the man's perspective. The main things in her life were housework, endless respect for the Chinese culture, and education. She went to an American public school. Then she went to her Chinese school at night. Jade Snow didn't have much time for anything else.
As Jade Snow grew older, she became more and more determined to break free from her parents' ways and the Chinese culture, which was very important in her family. She also decided to go to college. At that time it was very difficult for a woman to pursue that goal. As Jade Snow progressed through college, she earned honors and awards, however she still did not receive credit from her parents for all of her accomplishments. Not until her graduation did she get acceptance from her parents.
I admire Jade Snow's strength, independence, and all of her accomplishments. I also respect her rebellious decisions to move on to different ways from what she grew up with. The Chinese culture is tough, but so is Jade Snow and she deserved more praise and respect for her accomplishments than her family was willing to give her. Jade Snow had a lot of confidence to take on such a distinguished role during a time when women were rarely accepted for anything. I would recommend this book more for girls because I think we can relate and understand more of her situations. I enjoyed reading about Jade Snow's accomplishments and qualities more than I liked reading about the detailed Chinese ways and habits, which didn't interest me very much. Sometimes I felt as if I was reading a Chinese cookbook. I didn't like how there was so much explaining in how they cooked their rice and their dinners. The Chinese culture is such a unique way of living and Jade Snow's situations are hard to compare to the other novels I've read this summer. However, the other novels also talk about the struggle that other young women have in their culture or time period. I give this book 3 stars because I enjoyed reading about Jade Snow's courage. I think there was too much Chinese history, traditions, cooking, and holidays in the book. Overall, the book was enjoyable to read.


Fifth Chinese Daughter   August 24, 2002
What I liked about The Fifth Chinese Daughter is it tells the reader that you can go against something even if everyone thinks it's the right thing. One example is in the book where she was being taught to be a housewife but went against that and went to college after high school. I also liked because of the Chinese culture in the story because it was a whole different lifestyle. I liked the way the author wrote this book because it was some thing that I had never seen before in writing. The way the author wrote the book is she talked about herself in third person.
When I compare The Fifth Chinese Daughter to other novels I don't like it because I'd rather read a mystery or science fiction book.
Overall I think The Fifth Chinese Daughter is a great novel and I would recommend it to all ages because it teaches the reader Chinese culture during World War II and a valuable lesson . That lesson is if you think something is wrong you can go against it and do something you think is right.