Author : Stacey Lee
Genre : Historical
Publisher : Putnam
Pages : 384
Rating : 1.5/5
The Downstairs Girl seemed interesting because of its historical time period (1890s/segregation laws) and because its protagonist is a young Chinese American girl who survives with her wits. Jo Kuan works as a lady’s maid at a rich home in Atlanta, a job she has been lucky to get given that Chinese aren’t even considered citizens during the time. Her only well-wisher is Old Gin, a grandfatherly type who looks after her, and the only person who probably knows about her mysterious parentage. Jo’s existence is nether-worldish because she lives in a secret set of rooms under a print shop. When she starts writing an Agony Aunt column for the newspaper (and the print shop) run by the Bell family, she finds herself becoming friends with their son Nathan.
This book had so much promise, and it did start well. After a while though the writing got choppier, the plot went in several different directions and the ending required a leap of imagination I could not take. I knew going in that this was YA (and I keep away away from those because of aforementioned problems), but I had hoped for the best considering that the protagonist was a non-white female in the days of racial inequality in the South. Hoping wasn’t enough though.
While Jo did have some admirable qualities, gumption chief among them, her character wasn’t consistent. And while I could make some considerations for the fact that she is only 17, although a worldly wise 17, her directionless dithering made for unsatisfying reading. The book brought up several issues and tried to resolve all of them. I wish the author had picked one and given it serious consideration instead of giving into an ending requiring such a flight of fancy.
Skip this one.
