Shanghai Girls by Lisa See ~ book review

It is 1937 and Pearl and her sister May are teenagers growing up in Shanghai.  Their family was well off but Pearl has been noticing a few things that are a bit unusual such as things missing from the home and certain servants no longer around.  But Pearl and her sister have little time to really think deeply about such things.  They are modern girls who are also models, beautiful girls, for the Chinese calendars so they are living a carefree, independent, party filled life.  That is until the day they come home to find their father has "given" them in marriage to the sons of a Chinese American business man in order to pay off his gambling debts.  As they plot a way to get out of what their father has done and make their escape, the Japanese attack Shanghai and they make the life altering decision to go to America after all, but always with plans to escape their new father in law once they are there.  Once on American soil however, it is easier said than done.  Being the older sister Pearl has always felt a deep need to protect May yet their deep seated rivalries and jealousies follow them to America in spite of them having to cling to one another in order to survive.  Life will mean sacrifices and tough choices but can they look past their own inner turmoils to help each other?

Using Shanghai and California as a backdrop to the story, this book takes you on an immigration journey of two sisters.  It was fascinating to read of the Chinese experience as they came to America and the struggles they faced and the prejudice they encountered in trying to fit in and make a life.  Many of my assumptions were confronted about this group of immigrants and their journeys.  Though I found the first part of the book a little slower in reading, there is lots of description of their privileged life ,which for me was a bit tedious, but it becomes fundamental to the story in order for the reader to understand how hard their new life would be for them to acclimate to and how they had to change and adapt.  The book, for me, really picked up once the war began.  Though it is a quick read, it is not an easy read.  With the start of the war, comes some very horrific things taking place and happening to them individually and there is lots of attitudes and terms that would be considered politically incorrect in this day and age but is historically correct to the times.   Though the story deals with very hard events throughout the girl's lives it is at it's core a story of sisterly love and commitment to each other no matter what.  I would not call this a happy, fluffy read.  The girls do not live an easy life in America and their own relationship is very complicated.  But I learned a lot about another culture's experience with trying to fulfill their American Dream while staying true to their roots and coming to an understanding of what family is.  The book ended abruptly for me with loose ends but then I found out there is a second book continuing the story so I will read that to find out what happens.

Great historical fiction but with some trigger warnings to harsh attitudes towards women, and abuses perpetrated through war if you are sensitive to that.  I rated this an 8/10.