Rating: 
Summary: Too "bad"to be true
Review: Some of the stories are so farfetched and implausible that makes the whole work lose credibility.
Rating: 
Summary: a heart-touching story amazingly told..
Review: Imagine this:Cinderella or Snow White's story in reality, more gruesome; exclude the fairy godmother and the little dwarfs there to help out. Fear and isolation; the feeling of hopelessness is upon these lonely characters. Reading the details of Yen Mah's life, realizing the inhuman cruelty of relationships between humans; people who are suppose to be close/ who supposedly are trustful but happens all just to be infidelity. Mah's simple wish to be appreciated by her own father, dream to be loved and hoping that the Yen family could live in unison becomes her own lonely illusions shattered by her stepmother, father and siblings. Yes, she grew up in a family which provided her education, clothing, food and shelter, everything else but love and trust or any other moral attitude. The fact that her family paid for all her expenses was just because they were far more wealthier than most people and money was absolutely not a problem for them(bear in mind that her stepmother can be so wasteful)Mah was their daughter, it is their responsibility to take care of her no question.
This story holds tears in your eyes, anger at moments when bearing the fact that this is reality, warmth grasping that there still is someone out there who believes..
life is a cycle just like fallen leaves which returns to their roots. Thoughts don't erase, people do, but in the end it's only just the outer shell, what's within the heart is concrete. Where/how we started off that's where/how we will end; we were born with no clothes, no food, no money, isn't that the way we'll succumb?
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books
Review: This was one of the best and longest books I ever read. With the details of Adeline Yen Mah's life, you can start to relate to the horrible life she had to go through while living with her Eurasian stepmother, who neglected her. She had no one to turn to. After being taken away from her Aunt Baba, the only one that protected her, she was often alone. She was sent to private schools where the population of the children did not know how to speak Chinese. She courageously makes it alone to become a physician.
Rating:
Summary: a haunting memoir of a difficult childhood
Review: Adeline Yen Mah's account of her very dysfunctional family is well written and weaves in several significant events in China's political development. She writes about the influence her step mother "Niang" wielded on her family and how destructive one woman can be to three generations. I appreciated the way Adeline Yen Mah explained how events like the Communist takeover and cultural revolution impacted her family. Instead of a dry factual narration she gives a gripping and detailed view of people, places and happenings. Her story of life as a boarder in a convent school is the saddest I have read since Jane Eyre. Anyone who has known betrayal and divided loyalties will find much in common with this book. It is most of all about triumph over obstacles and resilience of the human spirit.
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Summary: New Insight to Chinese culture
Review: Excellent read - well written - cannot put down type of story. While I lived in southeast Asia for four years this story goves me an entirely new insight into the Chinese culture. It is a very moving story and I enjoyed every word of it.
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Summary: Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daught
Review: I think this is a wonderful book about a daughter who feels unwanted when her father decides to remarried. She suffered a great amout of pain when Niang hits her, but she suffer the most pain feeling lonly and loveless. Her Aunt Baba loves her very much , but nobody can relate to what she gone through. Her dad tries to keep them apart, saying that she is a bad influence to her. Adeline is a very strong person to have sirvived all of those years of not being loved at all.
Now she is happy living with her husband and having two children of her own. Niang had disinherited her in her will and also her own daughter, Susan. That case doesn't matter now when she found her dad's will. She wasn't cut of in the will, Maybe she is loved after all.
Rating: 
Summary: Heartrending account of a child's experience
Review: Adeline Yen Mah's writing is fluid yet affecting. Her story is brilliantly paced and laid out, making it a swift and captivating read. Her memoir, among others, deals with appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a stepmother, sibling rivalry, and the yearning for parental acceptance that are both poignant and compelling. Particularly memorable are characters such as Ye Ye, Aunt Baba, Father, Niang, Lydia and of course, Adeline herself. A minor inadequacy, perhaps, is the lack of mention of the spiritual aspect or shade to her experience. Almost making up for that are crisp and refreshing Chinese proverbs that grace each chapter by encapsulating the precepts of the wisdom acquired. This memoir exemplifies the possibility of rising beyond our predicament and the old adage that perseverance pays. A narrative on Yen Mah's childhood can be found in the equally appealing book "Chinese Cinderella" which can be read by younger readers. Adults would find themselves drawn to it too.
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Summary: If you are in the mood for a sad and depressing story...
Review: A friend recommended this book to me as a very good story. I had a hard time getting interested in the first few pages and put off reading it several times. When I finally decided to read it, I was addicted and finished it in less than two days. I just had to get to the end to find out what would happen. This reads like fiction and it is easier to digest if one thinks of this as fictional but the sad truth is that it really happened... The book is mostly very sad and depressing as it focuses on the verbal and physical abuse of this girl, for as far back as she can remember. I must also add another form of abuse: a withholding of love and affection and outright telling her and treated her as being completely unwanted by her own family. Some parts were so disturbing to me that I had bad dreams all night long about this poor girl's awful family and living situation. Bits of history, tiny tidbits, were intertwined that may not be enough information to make sense to someone ignorant about it. I am ignorant about the history of China, never having been exposed to it in my public school education, and knowing only fragmented bits here and there as portrayed in the American television news, so sometimes I think I may not have understood the full meaning of a certain event, but no matter, there was enough to understand the gist of what was going on. Before reading this book I knew nothing of Chinese culture, status of women, family hierarchy, etc. I was fascinated with learning about the cultural attitudes and this book left me curious to learn more about it. I am also left with a desire to learn more details about the history of China, communism there, etc. I also really want to know what it is like in China right now (the book drops off on what is going on in China in the present, which is not something I am complaining about). I know that this book has inspired me to learn more about China and Chinese culture and I feel that is a good thing, anytime a book can inspire one to learn more, the book is a success, in my opinion. I was disappointed that the author's attitude never turns what I would consider happy or glowing when she finally leaves China, falls in love, and finds success in her career as a physician. I kept waiting for her turning point when she is finally happy and had an overall attitude change. The depressing and sad tone carries on and on to the end. I was saddened that her longing for acceptance from her family persists to the very end. I hope that the author is happy now and hope that maybe it didn't get really written about in this book, or just didn't come through in the book. I hope Mah has reconciled these issues since the writing of the book, in which case we can hope for a sequel which would contain a more positive and glowing attitude. I guess I am hoping for a fairy tale ending!
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Summary: Chinese Cinderella
Review: This is one of the best books ever. Once you start, you will never be able to stop. This book really tells about life of a Chinese Cinderella. THis is one book which you will never forget.
Rating:
Summary: Surprised at the quality
Review: Lately there seems to be an influx on Chinese attempting to write English novels, and judging by the quality of the majority of those works, my expectations were not high when I started reading this book. I was wrong though. Although Ms Mah is not native English, her command of the language is superb. Very lyrical and captivating writing. I could not put the book down. Behind the writing is a well-crafted plot. Though she cannot take the credit for inventing the story, she has written it in such a way that the many many complex layers of her family life have been presented to the best advantage. I like the addition of Chinese proverbs as the chapter titles and throughout the novel. Not only do they add a touch of authencity to her racial background, to a Chinese reader they also offer a deeper insight into the story.
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