Book Review: Shanghai Girls

I recently finished reading the book Shanghai Girls by Lisa See this summer while I was pregnant. I have enjoyed reading her previous books that also take place in China. Every since I spent a summer teaching English in China while in college I find myself drawn to reading books that take place in China. This is great piece of historical fiction that begins in Shanghai. It follows two sisters, Pearl and May, and what happens to them during the Japanese invasion of China. The sisters are being sent to the United States to be with their husbands that their father has basically sold them to in order to pay some debts. The sisters eventually end up in the United States, but first are detained in the US at Angel’s Island. One can only imagine the hardships these two sisters have to endure during all of this. One of them is pregnant and has a baby during all of this. Being pregnant while reading this story really makes me appreciate how good women have it today when giving birth. The only negative to the book is the abrupt ending to the story. It basically ends in a cliffhanger, which leads many to believe there will be a sequel to the book. If that is the case then the ending is not so bad because we have a continuation of the story to look forward to reading.