Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society
by Adeline Yen Mah
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Description
During the Japanese occupation of parts of China, twelve-year-old Ye Xian is thrown out of her father's and stepmother's home, joins a martial arts group, and tries to help her aunt and the Americans in their struggle against the Japanese invaders. Includes historical notes.Tags
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Member Reviews
This book managed to be about the same things I want to write about, but all the aspects I'm *not* interested in. It was still an excellent read. I would have appreciated it as a younger reader. Unfortunately, the secret society wasn't as much fun and secrecy as I hoped it would have been.
I was expecting this book to be an exciting, fun adventure with a little Chinese cultural information woven in, but it was the exact opposite. The main purpose of this book is obviously to expose kids to some of the horrors faced by the Chinese, during Japan's occupation, along with basic facts about Chinese culture. While I think this is noble, as Americans are generally lacking in knowledge of Asian history (especially when it does not involve the US), I would have liked more of a entertaining story to go along with the history lesson. The characters and plots were simply a framework to provide the historical & cultural references, and as result, lacked depth and interest.
While the subject matter is more appropriate for older show more teenagers, the writing was geared toward more of a younger audience. The text's simplicity, choppiness, and grammatical errors reflected the fact that English is not the author's first language; in fact, the style seemed more characteristic of traditional Chinese writing than modern english.
Overall, I would recommend this book to high school students as a different perspective on WWII and as a (very) brief introduction to Japan's occupation of china. However, adults may find more value in other memoirs & historical fiction concerning modern Chinese history, such as Wild Swans. show less
While the subject matter is more appropriate for older show more teenagers, the writing was geared toward more of a younger audience. The text's simplicity, choppiness, and grammatical errors reflected the fact that English is not the author's first language; in fact, the style seemed more characteristic of traditional Chinese writing than modern english.
Overall, I would recommend this book to high school students as a different perspective on WWII and as a (very) brief introduction to Japan's occupation of china. However, adults may find more value in other memoirs & historical fiction concerning modern Chinese history, such as Wild Swans. show less
This book managed to be about the same things I want to write about, but all the aspects I'm *not* interested in. It was still an excellent read. I would have appreciated it as a younger reader. Unfortunately, the secret society wasn't as much fun and secrecy as I hoped it would have been.
This book was an unexpectedly good book I think that the author’s purpose of writing this book is to tell people about the history of lives of children during the time during of war with the Chinese and Japanese and to include the discriminations at that time. This being a fictional sequel to the first book “Chinese Cinderella” was still unexpectedly a good read, the characters in this book had distinctive personalities such as C.C because her feelings sounded very real. The ending quote of this book really made an impact on me the quote “We are in China at this moment in history for a reason. We are here to make a difference. We are children of destiny who will unite East and West and change the world. The future belongs to show more us.” Because the main characters are saying that because they have different and mixed races in their blood, and they will be the one to change how the world thinks about discrimination. show less
An interesting book that follows a period in the life of a chinese girl during the war with japan. It is interesting to note that while we often hear of the attrocities in europe not much of this is ever talkied about, i am certain that the japaneese are content with this fact.
I am assuming that there is something about the way the oriental mind works as this feels the same as other oriental writings. There is something about the way that they state the facts and have assumptions of what they should be doing. I am certain that the average american child cannot understand the concept of having to be so polite and formal with any parental figure, though the child in this book barates herself that despite being strangled (well held tightly show more arround the kneck)she is not polite enough, and that parents have the right to do this to her.
this feeling of acceptance seems to follow through the story, no matter the exciting situations that she finds herself she sees her duty.
I would recomend this to a good reader of primary rather than secondary show less
I am assuming that there is something about the way the oriental mind works as this feels the same as other oriental writings. There is something about the way that they state the facts and have assumptions of what they should be doing. I am certain that the average american child cannot understand the concept of having to be so polite and formal with any parental figure, though the child in this book barates herself that despite being strangled (well held tightly show more arround the kneck)she is not polite enough, and that parents have the right to do this to her.
this feeling of acceptance seems to follow through the story, no matter the exciting situations that she finds herself she sees her duty.
I would recomend this to a good reader of primary rather than secondary show less
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Jun 12, 2025English (UK)
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Author Information

16+ Works 7,292 Members
Although Adeline Yen Mah was born into a wealthy family in Tianjin, China in 1937, her childhood was an unhappy one. Born female in a culture that often devalues women, her situation was made worse by the fact that her family blamed Yen Mah for her mother's death, which occurred just after she was born. Her autobiography, Falling Leaves: The True show more Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter, details the emotional abuse she suffered from her father, siblings and, in particular, her stepmother. Most notable was the fact that her family, fleeing to Hong Kong in 1948 as the Communist army gained control of China, initially left the 10-year-old Yen Mah behind, in a boarding school in northern China. An international play-writing competition made it possible for Yen Mah to escape her unhappy family life when she was 14. She won the competition, and this convinced her father to send her to a boarding school in England. Yen Mah remained in England for 11 years, attending college and earning a medical degree. When she returned to Hong Kong in 1963 to do an internship, however, Yen Mah found that her family's attitude toward her had not improved. She left again, this time to accept a residency in the United States. In the U.S., Yen Mah found professional success, eventually becoming the chief of anesthesiology at Anaheim Community Hospital in California. She also found personal happiness with her second husband, Bob Mah, and their two children. However, she was always troubled by her estrangement from her father and stepmother, and after their deaths she went through a period of severe depression. She began writing Falling Leaves as a way to work through her feelings of rejection, never imagining that her story would become an international bestseller. (Bowker Author Biography) Adeline Yen Mah is a physician and writer. She divides her time between London, Hong Kong, and her home in Huntington Beach, California. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society
- Original publication date
- 2005
- People/Characters
- CC; Grandma Wu
- Important places
- China
- Important events
- World War II
- First words
- It was a sunny afternoon in early spring when I set off after school to Big Aunt's place for my daily English lesson.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 409
- Popularity
- 75,684
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.79)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 2




























































