Ting-Ying Ye: Throwaway Daughter

This fascinating novel for teenagers puts a human face on the Chinese policy of one-child families.

Dong-mei is abandoned on the steps of an orphanage in Yangzhou when she is only a few days old. She is later adopted by a Canadian couple and becomes Grace Parker, resident of Milford, Ontario. Then, at the age of 18, Grace has the opportunity to return to China and to search for her birth mother.

While this is an absorbing account of a girl's search for her roots, Throwaway Daughter doesn't have quite the same emotional impact as Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, because multiple narrators are used in this book.

However, it will certainly give teenagers an insight into modern Chinese society, as well as highlighting the issue of international adoptions.

This is a novel that will also be enjoyed by adults.

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Price: $19.99

Age: 12-plus+

Recommended by: Dorothy Vinicombe