Chinese Cinderella Book Review – True Story of Resilience for Kids & Teens

What is Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah about?

Chinese Cinderella is a true story about a girl growing up feeling unwanted by her family and finding strength through education and resilience. Many readers aged 9 and above can read it, especially confident readers who can handle emotional themes.

Discover our Review and Summary of Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

If you had not been born, Mama would still be alive. Without you, we would have a free life away from the witch. We could have been happy.

Adeline lives in China and is unwanted by her family, as she is considered “bad luck”. She is mistreated by her older siblings, unnoticed by her father, and abused by her cruel stepmother. Adeline often wonders what her life would be like if her mother was alive, and living with her, instead of her awful stepmother, whom she is obliged to call Niang (“mother” in Mandarin Chinese).

Adeline excels in her studies from a young age, and she finds comfort at school through her caring teachers and loyal, trustworthy friends. 

At home, she is simply ignored and loathed by her evil stepmother. Her achievements mean nothing, and she is treated like a pest. When Adeline’s best friend begs her to go to a birthday party, Adeline has no choice but to accept, which means she would disobey Niang’s orders to never visit anyone’s house. Consequently, she is sent away to Tianjin, a country with a looming communist threat. She feels truly abandoned, unsure of her future.

Over time, she is scared of what does the future has in store for her. Will her life be spared?

Where she currently lives is becoming more and more threatened, and when Adeline finds she is among the only people left before the communists gain power, she is sure her family have left her. Will her family come back for her, or have they truly forgotten about their innocent young girl?

I really enjoyed reading this autobiography for children, especially the part when Adeline finds a newspaper article. In it, there is a competition which she enters, and it changes her life forever.

Is Chinese Cinderella Worth Reading?

Adeline Yen Mah did a fantastic job writing this book. Chinese Cinderella aroused a lot of emotions in me when I was reading it. From the very start to the very end, I loved this book.

I like the way this book is written. It makes you feel like you are experiencing events right through Adeline’s eyes and feeling exactly what she feels. I would give this book 5/5 and highly recommend Chinese Cinderella to readers aged 10 and above, and well as anyone who loves reading autobiographies, because this book teaches powerful lessons about resilience and shows it doesn’t matter where you come from  –  you can grow into whoever you choose to be.

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The Diary of a Young Girl -Anne Frank: A powerful childhood perspective showing emotional resilience, hardship, and historical reality.

I Am Malala: An inspiring true story about education, cultural pressure, and the strength of a young girl standing up for what is right.