Chinese Cinderella By Adeline Yen Mah

The book, Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah is a true story about the author’s childhood growing up in China during the 1940s. The main character, Adeline is an unwanted child because her mother dies giving birth to her. She is unwanted by her family because Adeline is considered bad luck to them. Her father remarries a 17 year old and both of them have two children, including his four stepchildren. Adeline is the youngest of the stepchildren.
The family also lives with Adeline’s grandfather, Ye Ye and her favorite aunt Baba who is father’s sister. The story begins with Adeline as a young girl starting kindergarten and tells of her life up until she heads off to college in England. Her stepmother, Niang is always sending Adeline …show more content…
“How old are you...Now give me your date of birth” (Yeh Mah 125), her father asks as he is filling out paperwork to enter Tianjin for another boarding school she is sent off too. Her father also forgets Adeline’s Chinese name and needs to ask her what it is. This is probably the saddest part of the book which shows exactly how unimportant she is to this family. For a father to forget all three important events in her life, her Chinese name, birthdate and how old she is would upset any child. The abuse does not stop with her father and stepmother. Her older brothers trick Adeline into drinking urine on a very hot day which shows that all the hate and meanness toward her is not only from her parents. The brothers think so little of her and are jealous of her success in school that they are always trying to put her down. Adeline’s older sister and both brothers will always blame her for the death of their mother and constantly humiliate and abuse her throughout Adeline’s …show more content…
The fact that Adeline was slapped across the face by Niang many times, or her father forgetting her birthdate, Chinese name and her age and getting bit by the family dog with no help are just a few examples of abuse and being unwanted by her family. Somehow, Adeline always seems to put her abuse and humiliation behind her and do so well in school which is probably what saved her life. By receiving positive encouragement by her Ye Ye, Aunt Baba, teachers and friends, everyone else except her own family, she was able to overcome so much hardship in her life. The book has a happy ending by Adeline having her dream come true to study in England and be a successful doctor after all the hate, embarrassment, humiliation and physical abuse during her