A true story on the author's childhood and the life she led as the unwanted daughter in the family.
It was a story which touched my heart, and at the same time, it reminded us of our unique ethnicity as a Chinese through the depictions of the traditions, culture and the typical family mindset during those tumultuous era.
Her birth signifies the death of her mother; and due to that, she was scorned upon and disliked by her own siblings. To make matters worse, their father has since remarried a French woman who had two more children by him, making them a group of 7 siblings.
However, their French stepmother is practising double standards in the treatment of the children, favoring her own biological children compared to the other five.
Ostracized by her own siblings and the evil stepmother, she was constant ridiculed and ignored in the family.
Despite her shortcomings at home, she excelled at school and had the love of her grandfather and aunt Ba Ba who were the only ones who were true to her.
She had to put up a front in school; telling tales that she was much loved at home.
However, due to the constant turmoils in the country, her family had to run away from the unstable states which resulted in her being transferred from one school to another, and yet continuously excelling in her studies.
She was even left behind in missionary schools by her family until she was saved by her French stepmother's own sister who treated her with such love and care that she half-wished she belonged to that family.
It was heart-wrenching when her beloved grandmother died and she was separated from her aunt Baba.
Lady Luck finally shone unto her when she emerged as a winner in a script play writing competition and won the admiration of her father who agreed to send her overseas to further her studies; a dream she had longed for and thought had lost due to her being a daughter in the family.
Her father frowned upon her dreams to study English or writing and decided to place her in medicine. Better than none, she accepted it as the golden opportunity to independence.
A truly touching story, and simple enough for anyone to understand.
I felt the stirring emotion for Adeline as I followed her through her plight and her life story.
P.S:I would love to get my hands on the prequel; Falling Leaves :)
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