Title: The Downstairs Girl

Author: Stacey Lee

Performer: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 10 hr, 27 min, 24 sec

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2019 by Tantor Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: A truly delightful listen starring a spunky heroine.  I really enjoy historical fiction novels that highlight groups that are not widely covered in American history books.  Chinese Americans are one such group.  Lee addresses the fact that Chinese Americans were often invisible to society because they did not easily fit into the construct of “black” or “white.”  Though considered “colored” by most, it was not always clear which laws of segregation and discrimination applied to their ethnic group.  This is evident throughout the story, as Jo tries to navigate the tricky and often murky waters of the political and social climate of the South.

This book did get a little slow somewhere in the middle, but the beginning and end were fantastic.  Lee’s character development is superb and she tied up the story in ways that I didn’t really expect.  I liked that a romance was not a central focus of this story, because this was really a coming-of-age story about a young woman finding her voice in a world that tried hard to silence her.  Despite adversity, she challenged social norms and was not satisfied to let others dictate her destiny.

Emily Woo Zeller did a great job as the narrator of this book.  I enjoyed this performance far more than her performance in The Bird and the Blade.

Reader: Bekah

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