[MPOV] My American Sister

My rating: 4/5
Goodreads rating: 4.5/5
Published: August 19th, 2022
Author: Judy Tham
Genre: Asian lit, family fiction

What price does a family pay for an unapproved birth?

Li Fu and Mei, farmers from a far-flung province seeking a livelihood in the capital, Beijing, flout the country’s One-Child Policy by giving birth to a second daughter, Ying. Unable to pay the hefty penalty, their baby is forcefully taken by corrupted officials and sold to an orphanage, and is eventually put up for adoption. Stricken by grief, the family falls apart. Li, obsessed with finding his missing daughter, leads a dysfunctional and chaotic life with his eldest daughter Yan after his wife walks out of the family. Seventeen years passed before he eventually locates Ying in San Francisco.

However, his dream of a reunited family is quickly crushed when Ying, now an all-American girl, cannot accept her biological family’s un-American way of life. Intolerant of their behavior and illegal immigrant status, Ying does the unthinkable – calling the immigration department to deport her family back to China.

Overcome with guilt and remorse, Ying decides to go to China to face her father and tell him the truth about their arrest and deportation.

Told from the perspectives of the two sisters, this novel reveals the dark side of cross-cultural adoption and love between father and daughter. The story is inspired by actual accounts of missing children in China, some of whom were abducted by corrupted officials for profiteering.

I have received this e-ARC from Penguin Random House SEA in return for my honest review.

The story started with Li Fu and his wife, Mei, about their life as the poor peasants in China and accidently flouting the One Child Policy by having 2 daughters. Their predicament came about when the corrupt officials started knocking on their door trying to collect fines to which the couple could not afford. Being a typical egoistic Chinaman, Li Fu naturally defied and offended the officials. One day, their younger daughter was snatched from Mei's arm and was sold to an orphanage that quickly set her up for adoption to Americans. After this, Li Fu's family slowly fell apart.

The story then moved forward to 17 years later to which Faye, the younger daughter, has grown up beautifully under the TLC of Sophia. Yan, the older daughter, has grown up without her mother who has walked out on them. A chain of events led Li Fu and Yan to finally find Faye in America and eventually led to more chaos and mayhem!

I am glad to have read this awesome novel! I honestly didn't expect the ending to turn out as it is. I've liked how the story progresses with many relatable events that I think only Asians could relate to. As such, it was enjoyable although it was slow at some point and predictable at others. Overall, it was truly a memorable journey. 

Having known that the author actually did lots of research for this novel, it definitely was worth the while as the story turned out realistically for me and I could visualize it, being able to empathize Faye a lot! On the other hand, Yan's deprivation had me feeling so sorry for her. She's such a strong girl, being able to stay sane and not being mental! I just loved the bittersweet ending, didn't expect for it to turn out as such as I kept thinking of the opposite LOL! Too much drama in my mind!

If you like family drama with Asian fusion type of story, do give this novel, My American Sister by Judy Tham, a try. You can find out more from this link:
My American Sister - Penguin Random House SEA