Throw Away Daughter

by Ting-Xing Ye with William Bell

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Grace Parker is sick of hearing about her Chinese heritage.  She doesn’t use her Chinese name, she doesn’t want to be labelled “Chinese-Canadian”, and she only takes mandarin lessons because her adoptive father bribes her.

But even she can’t escape the question of her origin – why didn’t her birth parents want her?  “But I couldn’t stop seeing my life as a jigsaw puzzle with one piece missing.  I often imagined myself tracking down the two people who left me on the steps of the orphanage, knocking on their door.  “Thanks for the baggage,” I’d say.”

(from Throwaway Daughter, page 103)

And so she decides to travel to China to try and find that missing piece.  But in a country of a billion people, will she find the answers she seeks?  And, more importantly, will she like what she finds out?

I found this book a compelling read, even though I have no connection to China or to overseas adoption.  The scenes in China are fascinating, and I could really picture Grace in this changing, busy society.

Each chapter is written from one character’s perspective – Grace, Jane her adoptive mother, Chun-Mei her biological mother, Mrs. Xia at the adoption agency – which is really helpful considering the complexities involved in any adoption.  

This would be a great book for a family that is considering or has adopted from China.  It would also be great for a high school English class studying issues of culture, identity, 

 Christian Content: None

Parental Concerns:  Occasional mild profanity

Review by Susan