The Downstairs Girl - Stacy Lee

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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

This is a super interesting historical book set in 1890s Georgia. The main character is Jo, a Chinese-American orphan teen. Who knew there were Chinese immigrants in the southern States already at that time? I didn't! A huge topic in the book is how Chinese people were treated during this era of segregation, when they weren't considered "coloured," but not white either.

Jo is secretly living in the basement of a newspaper press with the man who raised her, and works as a personal maid. She starts to submit articles to the paper, finally giving her a way to get her voice heard. I was very invested in Jo's journey of becoming more confident and starting to speak up about all the injustice and ridiculous things she sees as someone from the invisible class. There's intrigue about her birth while everyone in the city is trying to find out who's writing the articles. Fun!

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