The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

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.

American Values ...

WE THE PEOPLE: The 500-Year Battle Over Who Is American by Ben Railton is part of the American Ways Series from Rowman & Littlefield. Railton is Professor of English Studies and Coordinator of American Studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.  In this new text he provides a general introduction, noting that ‘we’ is “an ambiguous pronoun” which has “consistently moved between two poles,” an exclusionary one and an inclusive one. Railton then uses eight chapters to discuss specific “case studies” from the history of the Americas, such as the Conquistadors, later Indian removal, Chinese exclusion, Japanese internment and discrimination against Muslims to illustrate his points, often by citing actions AND reactions of lesser known figures. The xenophobic and white supremacist comments he includes from the 1920s are chilling. Of course, this is also such a timely topic – The New York Times recently ran an article on What Makes an American? and today published a story on changing policy relative to green card holders.  

Although Railton clearly favors one perspective, he advocates for greater understanding and notes a significant number of sources, many of which, like Roger Daniels’ Coming to America, are in our collection and used frequently.  One that Railton neglected to mention is A Place at the Table by Maria Fleming which is similar in that it discusses (although much more briefly) several of the same examples of exclusionary practices in a generally chronological format. Also worth noting is Linda R. Monk’s use of numerous primary sources (and again, a chronological presentation) in her text titled Ordinary Americans that looks more at everyday experiences. Overall, Railton’s additional suggestions appear especially useful in that they encompass a number of publishers and relatively recent titles.  

JEFFERSON, MADISON, AND THE MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION by Jeff Broadwater is a newly published work from The University of North Carolina Press. Broadwater is an historian who has written texts about James Madison, George Mason and also about other revolutionary founders. This latest work is clearly well-researched (roughly a fourth of the book is notes and source lists) and likely to be of interest to faculty members. Broadwater makes the points “neither Jefferson nor Madison got the Constitution that he really wanted” and offers a thorough exploration of the two men’s “evolution of thought,” particularly in the context of events between 1776 and 1789. 

I originally requested  a preview of this title because I thought it might be used in our Civics classes in order to probe some of the history and concepts related to the Constitution.  Unfortunately, I think Broadwater’s text is too dense and assumes too much prior knowledge of American history (on the part of our students) to be useful in that way for high school classes. Other academics and historians are more likely to appreciate his work in comparing and contrasting these two statesmen, debating, for example Broadwater’s summary comment: “Jefferson left a more profound imprint on the American psyche. Madison made a greater impact on American law.”

The Kinship of Secrets by Eugenia Kim

THE KINSHIP OF SECRETS by Eugenia Kim is a unique look at immigration and assimilation in American society.  Kim tells the story of two sisters.  Miran, adopted after being abandoned by her mother, was a sickly baby and is brought to the United States by her immigrant parents, Najin and Calvin Cho.  Intending to return after a few years, they have left their year-old biological daughter, Inja, in Seoul with her maternal grandparents and uncle. Instead the Korean War occurs and the family is separated for well over a decade. Kim explains in an author’s note that she based the novel partly on her own family’s experiences, especially that of an older sister, and she uses alternating chapters to allow readers to experience the emotions of both daughters, eventually reuniting them. The differences in attitudes towards family members, dress, food, and language are all explored. Plus, Kim addresses “how emptiness could feel so heavy” and the range of feelings (bewilderment, resentment, loyalty, guilt, sacrifice and love) of children, parents and grandparents: “The comfort of being home, her Korean home, came from fulfilling the drive to belong. But the drive also heightened the pain of division when a single small thing marked one as different, such as Inja having a mother, but not having a mother; for Uncle, having her as a daughter who was not his daughter; for Miran, being Korean, yet not being Korean; and for her parents, having the eldest who was not the firstborn blood child.”

THE KINSHIP OF SECRETS, a LibraryReads selection, received a starred review from Booklist and will be a popular addition to our Junior Theme selections like Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.