A wonderful multigenerational novel: Three ABCs (American Born Chinese) sisters travel to China with their Mother, their aunt and their grandmother. They are not especially close to one another. The trip is an impulsive gesture and a gift from their Mother, who is the only one who really wishes to spend time with all of them. They go, but reluctantly, and their daily routines and relationships are briefly interrupted. The separate stories of all the women are told as they make their way to and through the "must sees" on a 2-week guided tour of China. It is a fluent novel and the characters are separate individuals, but also bound by history and genetics and an unpracticed, unspoken love.
I found it interesting that it seems anyone who is not white in America is perceived as not really belonging here, including these Asian girls who never lived in China and were born in America. There are so many new books currently being written by non-white authors. While these novels are often sobering, they also educate and enlighten us with their tales of very different lives in countries far removed from North America.
The author was born in New York and is a public school teacher. This is her first novel.
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