The Paper Daughters of Chinatown - by Heather B Moore & Allison Hong Merrill (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Based on the true story of two friends who unite to help rescue immigrant women in the most dangerous corners of San Francisco's Chinatown in the late 1890s.

When Tai Choi leaves her home in the Zhejiang province of China, she believes she'll be visiting her grandmother. But in truth, despite her mother's opposition, her father has sold her to pay his gambling debts. Alone and afraid, Tai Choi is put on a ship headed for San Francisco, known among the Chinese as Gold Mountain. When she arrives, she is forced to go by the new name listed on her paper documents: Tien Fu Wu.

Her new life as a servant at a gambling den is hard. She is told to stay hidden, to stay silent, and to perform an endless list of chores, or else she will be punished. Tien Fu thinks her life couldn't get any worse, until she is sold again to an abusive shopkeeper and tasked to care for a young boy. If she is to survive, Tien Fu must persevere, and learn who to trust.

When Dolly Cameron arrives in San Francisco to teach sewing at a mission home for orphaned Asian girls, she meets Tien Fu, who is willful, defiant, and unwilling to trust anyone. Dolly quickly learns that all the girls at the home were freed from lives of servitude and maltreatment. Dolly immediately joins the group of women dedicated to saving more of these "paper daughters" because some in authority have turned a blind eye to the situation.

Despite many challenges, Dolly and Tien Fu forge a powerful friendship as they mentor and help those in the mission home and work to win the freedom of thousands of immigrant women and girls.

Review Quotes

2025 Lizard Nominee

-- "New Mexico Land of Enchantment Book Award" (5/21/2025 12:00:00 AM)

2025 Notable Read for Young Adult/Middle Grade Readers

-- "Utah Book Awards" (5/21/2025 12:00:00 AM)

2023 Honorable Mention for Young Adult Fiction-- "Foreword Indies" (6/7/2024 12:00:00 AM)

Selected as a "recommended title"-- "2023 Kansas National Education Association's Reading Circle Commission"

Selected as one of the 25 best new books for 7th graders-- "We Are Teachers"

"Heartbreakingly real, the story of Tien Fu can spark conversation about human trafficking, the many people who have been affected, and its existence today. A great choice for book clubs and fans of historical fiction."-- "School Library Journal"

"Poignant, well-told narrative. An important story and sadly still relevant topic that needs to be told and remembered. Tai Choi is a well-written character, based on a true story, who is an example of grit, courage, tenacity, growth, and compassion. Dolly Cameron, the head of the school/rescue house, is an example of courage, compassion, and willingness to help is one we should strive to follow. Their voices and stories will resonate with the reader long after they are done reading this novel, as it causes one to contemplate a society that makes humans, and especially young girls, objects to be sold, traded, and used merely as objects. Tai Choi's story is one that needs to be told and remembered and authors Heather B. Moore and Allison Hong Merrill have done a wonderful job making sure that happens."-- "Compass Book Ratings"

"Compelling and impactful. The authors convey Tai Choi's strength and determination throughout the novel. Would make an excellent novel study to support ELA classrooms."-- "ChildrensLit.com"

About the Author

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestseller and award-winning author of more than seventy publications. She's lived on both the east and west coasts of the United States, including Hawaii, and attended school abroad, including the Cairo American College in Egypt, and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. She loves to learn about anything in history and, as an author, is passionate about historical research.

Allison Hong Merrill was born and raised in Taiwan and came to the US at twenty-two as a university student. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and writes both fiction and creative nonfiction in both Chinese and English. Her work has won both national and international literary awards.