THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL by Stacey Lee (Under a Painted Sky
and Outrun the Moon) is a work of historical fiction in which readers
definitely will experience 1890 Atlanta with all of its gender, race, and social
class biases. The main character is Jo Kuan, a seventeen-year-old Chinese
orphan who lives with her guardian, Old Gin, in a basement hideout formerly on
the underground railroad. She wants to be a milliner and has obvious skills
until she is abruptly dismissed for making some of the white patrons “uncomfortable.”
Next, it is on to being a lady’s maid for a rather spoiled young woman at an
estate where Old Gin helps to care for the horses. In an effort to save a local newspaper, she also starts
writing an advice column, signing her letters as Miss Sweetie and cleverly tackling questions related to beauty, social mores and "newfangled machinery" like bicycles. Even though THE
DOWNSTAIRS GIRL is set in a time and place with which our students will
have little affinity, I think they will readily relate to Jo’s spirit – she is
optimistic, resourceful and daring – a real “saucebox” with an independent streak. And the cover is
beautiful and eye catching!
THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL received multiple
starred reviews (Booklist, Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books, Kirkus,
Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal) – expect this title to appear on award lists,
too.
