The Downstairs Girl
(Sprache: Englisch)
From the critically-acclaimed author of Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon and founding member of We Need Diverse Books comes a powerful novel about identity, betrayal, and the meaning of family.
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Klappentext zu „The Downstairs Girl “
From the critically-acclaimed author of Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon and founding member of We Need Diverse Books comes a powerful novel about identity, betrayal, and the meaning of family."This vividly rendered historic novel will keep readers riveted as witty, observant Jo deals with the dangers of questioning power." --The Washington Post By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South. A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults List A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year "Holds a mirror to our present issues while giving us a detailed and vibrant picture of life in the past." --The New York Times "A joyful read . . . The Downstairs Girl, for all its serious and timely content, is a jolly good time." --NPR
Lese-Probe zu „The Downstairs Girl “
Chapter 1Being nice is like leaving your door wide-open. Eventually, someone s going to mosey in and steal your best hat. Me, I have only one hat and it is uglier than a smashed crow, so if someone stole it, the joke would be on their head, literally. Still, boundaries must be set. Especially boundaries over one s worth.
Today I will demand a raise.
You re making that pavement twitchy the way you re staring at it. Robby Withers shines his smile on me. Ever since the traveling dentist who pulled Robby s rotting molar told him he would lose more if he didn t scrub his teeth regularly, he has brushed twice daily, and he expects me to do it, too.
Pavement is underappreciated for all it does to smooth the way, I tell his laughing eyes, which are brown like eagle s feathers, same as his skin. We should be more grateful.
Robby gestures grandly at the ground. Pavement, we re much obliged, despite all the patty cakes we dump on you. He pulls me away from a pile of manure. It was Robby s mother who nursed me when I was a baby, God rest her soul. And it was she who told Old Gin about the secret basement under the print shop.
Whitehall Street, the spine of Atlanta, rises well above the treetops with her stately brick and imposing stone buildings along with the occasional Victorian house that refuses to give up her seat at the table. Business is good here, and like the longleaf pine forests, being burned by Sherman s troops a quarter century ago only made the city grow back stronger.
You look different today. I pretend to appraise him from his cap to his tan trousers. You forget something? It is rare to see him without the mule and cart he uses as a deliveryman for Buxbaum s Department Store.
They re down a clerk. Mr. Buxbaum s letting me fill in until they find someone new. He straightens his pin-striped jacket, though it s already straight enough to measure with.
You don t say. Mr. Buxbaum is popular among whites and colored alike, but
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hiring a colored clerk isn t done in these parts.
If I do a good job, maybe he ll let me fill in on a more permanent basis. He gives me a tight smile.
If you don t stick your foot out, you ll never advance. You d be perfect for the job. I myself am fixing to ask Mrs. English for a raise.
He whistles, a short low sound. If Mrs. English had any sense, she d give it to you. Of course, common sense was never very common in these parts.
I nod, a surge of righteous blood flooding my veins. Two years I have worked as a milliner s assistant at the same wage of fifty cents a day. Measly. It is already 1890. Plus, Old Gin has lost too much weight, and I need to buy him medicine not a booty ball or buckeye powder, but something legitimate. And legitimate costs money.
One of the newly electric streetcars approaches, bringing by an audience of Southerners in various stages of confusion at the sight of me. An Eastern face in Western clothes always sets the game wheels to spinning between curiosity and disapproval. Most of the time, the pointer lands on disapproval. I should charge them for the privilege of ogling me. Of course, I d have to split the fee with Robby, whose six-foot height also draws attention, even as he keeps his eyes on the sidewalk.
He stops walking and squares his cap so that it s flat enough to play chess on. Here s my stop. Good luck, Jo.
Thanks, but keep some for yourself.
He winks, then slips down a narrow alley to use the back door to Buxbaum s. Old Gin tells me things have changed for the worse since I w
If I do a good job, maybe he ll let me fill in on a more permanent basis. He gives me a tight smile.
If you don t stick your foot out, you ll never advance. You d be perfect for the job. I myself am fixing to ask Mrs. English for a raise.
He whistles, a short low sound. If Mrs. English had any sense, she d give it to you. Of course, common sense was never very common in these parts.
I nod, a surge of righteous blood flooding my veins. Two years I have worked as a milliner s assistant at the same wage of fifty cents a day. Measly. It is already 1890. Plus, Old Gin has lost too much weight, and I need to buy him medicine not a booty ball or buckeye powder, but something legitimate. And legitimate costs money.
One of the newly electric streetcars approaches, bringing by an audience of Southerners in various stages of confusion at the sight of me. An Eastern face in Western clothes always sets the game wheels to spinning between curiosity and disapproval. Most of the time, the pointer lands on disapproval. I should charge them for the privilege of ogling me. Of course, I d have to split the fee with Robby, whose six-foot height also draws attention, even as he keeps his eyes on the sidewalk.
He stops walking and squares his cap so that it s flat enough to play chess on. Here s my stop. Good luck, Jo.
Thanks, but keep some for yourself.
He winks, then slips down a narrow alley to use the back door to Buxbaum s. Old Gin tells me things have changed for the worse since I w
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Autoren-Porträt von Stacey Lee
Stacey Lee is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Downstairs Girl, Luck of the Titanic, Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon, the winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. She is a fourth-generation Chinese American and a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. Born in Southern California, she graduated from UCLA and then got her law degree at UC Davis King Hall. She lives with her family outside San Francisco. You can visit Stacey at staceyhlee.com. Or follow her on Twitter @staceyleeauthor.
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Stacey Lee
- Altersempfehlung: Ab 12 Jahre
- 2021, 400 Seiten, Maße: 14,3 x 21,1 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Verlag: Penguin Random House
- ISBN-10: 1524740977
- ISBN-13: 9781524740979
- Erscheinungsdatum: 24.03.2021
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
A Reese's Book Club YA PickA New York Times Bestseller
An Indie Bestseller
A People Magazine Best Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Children s Book of the Year
One of NPR's Favorite Books of the Year
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Editors Choice
A BookPage Best Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
A Crystal Kite Award Winner
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee is clever, poignant and funny. It s a bold portrait about a young Chinese-American woman named Jo who is faced with adversity and finds a creative way to use her voice for greater good. Reese Witherspoon
Vividly rendered, intriguingly plotted . . . Jo s example of resistance and hope is sure to resonate with today s readers. The Washington Post
Holds a mirror to our present issues while giving us a detailed and vibrant picture of life in the past. The New York Times
A joyful read . . . The Downstairs Girl, for all its serious and timely content, is a jolly good time. NPR
A triumph of storytelling. The Downstairs Girl is a bold portrait of this country s past, brilliantly painted with wit, heartbreak, and unflinching honesty. Everyone needs to read this book. Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval
A gorgeous tale that will steal your heart. This is not only a keeper, but a classic! Robin LaFevers, New York Times bestselling author of the His Fair Assassin trilogy
A jewel of a story. By shining a light on the lives of those whom history usually ignores, Lee gives us a marvelous gift: An entirely new and riveting look at our past." Candace Fleming, award-winning author of The Family Romanov
Clever, funny, and poignant, The Downstairs Girl is Stacey Lee at her best. Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling
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author of The Crown s Game
Immersive, important, and thoroughly entertaining, The Downstairs Girl sparkles with all of Stacey Lee s signature humor, charm, warmth, and wisdom. Kelly Loy Gilbert, Morris Award Finalist for Conviction
* Luminous . . . An optimistic, sophisticated portrayal of one facet of Chinese-American and simply American history. Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* This spectacular, voice-driven novel raises powerful questions about how we understand the past, as well as the ways our current moment is still shaped by that understanding. Booklist, starred review
* Unflinching in its portrayals of racism yet ultimately hopeful and heartfelt, this narrative places voices frequently left out of historical fiction center stage. School Library Journal, starred review
* This captivating novel explores intersectionality, conveys the effects of restrictions placed on women and people of color, and celebrates the strengths and talents of marginalized people struggling to break society s barriers in any age. Publishers Weekly, starred review
* A compelling domestic drama with a winning heroine. The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, starred review
"The Downstairs Girl is rich in historical detail and anchored by Stacey Lee s buoyant prose and a heroine whose voice leaps off the page." BookPage
Lee's profound writing tackles topics of politics and race with a main character who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Buzzfeed
History, mystery, social commentary, adventure this book s got it all! BookRiot
All of Lee s books offer a stunning level of historical accuracy and feel like mini time machines, including her latest. This story about using your voice is one of Lee s best. Paste Magazine
An apt, powerful read. Woman s World Magazine
Immersive, important, and thoroughly entertaining, The Downstairs Girl sparkles with all of Stacey Lee s signature humor, charm, warmth, and wisdom. Kelly Loy Gilbert, Morris Award Finalist for Conviction
* Luminous . . . An optimistic, sophisticated portrayal of one facet of Chinese-American and simply American history. Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* This spectacular, voice-driven novel raises powerful questions about how we understand the past, as well as the ways our current moment is still shaped by that understanding. Booklist, starred review
* Unflinching in its portrayals of racism yet ultimately hopeful and heartfelt, this narrative places voices frequently left out of historical fiction center stage. School Library Journal, starred review
* This captivating novel explores intersectionality, conveys the effects of restrictions placed on women and people of color, and celebrates the strengths and talents of marginalized people struggling to break society s barriers in any age. Publishers Weekly, starred review
* A compelling domestic drama with a winning heroine. The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, starred review
"The Downstairs Girl is rich in historical detail and anchored by Stacey Lee s buoyant prose and a heroine whose voice leaps off the page." BookPage
Lee's profound writing tackles topics of politics and race with a main character who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Buzzfeed
History, mystery, social commentary, adventure this book s got it all! BookRiot
All of Lee s books offer a stunning level of historical accuracy and feel like mini time machines, including her latest. This story about using your voice is one of Lee s best. Paste Magazine
An apt, powerful read. Woman s World Magazine
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