Author: Jeanette Ingold
Summary:
This story is about a journalist name Steven Chen who while working on a story for the newspaper was killed by a hit and run car that was never located. His daughter Maggie Chen who is now an intern for the Herald Newspaper is seeking for his real identity as she finds out a lot of missing and false information about her father that he created himself. The school that he attended has no record of him and the one friend Mr. Bill Ames that he went to school with have no idea where he came from and cannot remember if he has any family members who live close by. The only lead Maggie has are some old photos of her father that he kept in his file, but even that she wasn't sure if any answers would come out of it. While working with her partner Harrison on a very important story, the case on her father re-opens up again because of the way he died. Thinking that her father was in trouble and would be involved with criminal and bribery, Maggie sets out to find the truth and look for reasons of why he was killed at an area that he wasn't even familiar with. She's confused and can't believe why her father would make up lies and not tell her and her mother the real truth about his family and where he came from. She believes that her father had lived in California and have traced back his roots with the Chinese immigrants, so her searches take her to the Chinese down town area. She finally comes up with clues that leads her to Mr. Li's house asking him for help. Although he can't help her at first she returns a second time with photos of a girl that somehow resembles herself. She receives a call from Jillian, a friend and also an intern at the same place of work telling her that her dad has been cleared, and that it was someone else that was being blackmailed. Maggie is relieved to hear the good news, as shes still standing there before Mr. Li, he decides to finally tell her everything he knows. When she gets home she tells her mother everything and they both decide to invite Mr. Li and his nephew along with his parents. Maggie have come to know that Mr. Li is indeed her great grand-father, and is very happy not only for herself but also for her proud father. She and Jillian are planning to go on a shopping spree for bathing suits so they could go on a vacation with her other friends Bett and Aimee.
Biography:
Ingold, J. (2010). Paper Daughter. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
My Impression:
I was very impressed with this story line as this story took me back to how people especially immigrants from other countries were treated very badly and so it made them want to leave their country. Leaving behind parents and children for better life elsewhere. I admired how this hardworking Chinese man wanted to make a better living for himself, his wife and daughter, but still wanted to find out where he came from. The author tells a great story line of how even though Mr. Chen had a good job and raised a good family still had the urgency to try and look for his parents. Example: Here in our Island we have a lot of the Western Samoan people come for 3 days permit to visit their families or for business meetings, sometimes they would just come to do shopping, but when they get here they decide to stay. Their documents are not done properly and they end up not wanting to go back. The only problem will be for these individuals not to get into any trouble or create any problems because if it does happen, immigration or police will be called in and they will get caught, especially if they are over stayers. These people come here to American Samoa to work so they can take care of their families back in Western Samoa. I liked how Maggie wanted to clear her fathers name, doing a lot of searching yet at the end was able to meet the family that her father always wanted to meet.
Professional Review:
Voice of Youth Advocates
( October 01, 2010; 9780152055073 )
Historical fiction, mystery, and realistic fiction weave together to create an enjoyable read in Paper Daughter. Maggie Chen is a teenage girl coping with the recent death of her father, a summer internship at a local newspaper, and a local political crime that creates questions about her identity. As Maggie begins dealing with each of these events, the world as she knows it starts to unravel. Her father was a noted reporter with an impressive educational pedigree, or so she thought. Although Maggie is Chinese American, she knows little about what happened to the Chinese as they immigrated to Seattle in the early 1900s. Her investigation into the political crime and the hit-and-run death of her father parallel her discovery of his real life as an orphan; her great grandfather, a paper son, whom she never knew; and a glimpse into their history. This glimpse helps Maggie understand her heritage, herself, and her family a little better. Jeanette Ingold does an excellent job of weaving these stories together and making it seem as though they could be happening today. This is an enjoyable read with a wealth of information about the history of Chinese Americans. The author's notes and Internet sources are assets to the reader. This would make a good book club or novel study book.-Lona Trulove.
Review retrieve from:
Bowker Books in Print
Use in Library:
I would use this book in the library for students to have an open discussion on ethnic groups. Discuss why do some people leave their countries and families to go elsewhere. History and culture are also important issues where other people cannot leave, which is more important.
Image from: http://www.jeanetteingold.com/
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