This powerful debut will keep you reading until the very last page. This novel tells the story of a mother and her daughters' escape to Taiwan at the time of the Communist Revolution in China. This was an eye opener for many reasons, and I enjoyed learning about this time and the culture especially around the women and daughters' dynamics in a family.

Quick and Dirty
-family saga historical fiction
-1940s China setting
-mother/daughter/sister drama
-culturally rich and heartfelt

What Worked
Anyone following me for a while knows that I love a strong female MC, and this debut novel has one of the best examples of perseverance, loyalty, and fearlessness I’ve read in a while. And did I mention she’s only 12? Getting swept away in this journey was easy. Chung’s rich historical detail and the story of Hai and her family made this immersive read fly by. The saga of the Ang sisters felt very real and raw, chiefly because of the author’s personal connection to the story (based on her family history). They faced EVERY hardship imaginable in their flight from the Communist regime, making this book more relevant than expected in our modern. It’s SO full of cultural and historical nuggets, leaving me satisfied that I was learning something I always enjoy (one of the main reasons I love reading histfic, TBH).

What Didn’t Work
Honestly, my only complaint about this powerful book is the number of times contemporary language and phrases were used. This happened a few times, primarily in the dialogue, and I found it momentarily distracting. Otherwise, this is a near-flawless debut that every historical fiction reader should consider!

Read This If
This book is perfect for folks looking to diversify their reading experience and learn something new about the Chinese Civil War!

Absolutely fantastic debut by Eve J. Chung. She weaves a stunning story of womanhood, family, perseverance and strength.

This is a historical fiction set in China during the Chinese Revolution. The wealthy Ang family flees their home when the revolutionaries seize it. However, the grandparents and the father leave the mother and her daughters behind. Since she hasn't produced a male heir, the grandmother looks down upon her daughter-in-law, and her granddaughters, deeming them less than worthy of her financial assistance. The mother and her daughters make a difficult journey across China, trying to reunite with the father. Sadly, the grandmother's hatred spews forth again and she tells her daughter-in-law not to come because her son will marry another.
I didn't know of the troubles that people had in China once the revolution took place. The internal politics and the cruelty among its citizens, especially females was heartbreaking. The kindness of a few good people restored my faith.
A very interesting story of hope and perseverance.

Compelling! A beautiful, bittersweet story of the strength and perseverance of one young Chinese refugee and her mother and sisters during the Chinese Communist Revolution. This book is the perfect blend of history, family saga, and coming-of-age.

Readers follow Hai, her mother and little sisters as they are abandoned by their patriarch and his parents at the onset of the Communist Revolution. They must not only survive, but try to find their way to Taiwan to reunite with the family who so willingly left them at the first sign of trouble. Of course, there are many obstacles and hardships along the way. We are filled in on Chinese culture and tradition, as well as shifts that occur with each generation, throughout the novel in the most authentic, least obtrusive way. The story is never interrupted to tell the reader these things, but we learn so much along the way, all while rooting for Hai and the women in her family.

Whether you’re a fan of historical fiction, feminist fiction, or just a great story, this one will hit the spot!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Thank you to @berkleypub for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Daughters of Shandong is set in China in the late 1940s and 1950s as the Communist regime is overthrowing the Nationalist government. The story is told from the perspective of Hai, who is the eldest of four sisters. When her father and their grandparents, part of the land-owning Ang family, abandon Hai’s mother and her daughters, they must find a way to survive.

This story was really moving. It had so much empathy and emotion without crossing the line of being too heavy. I couldn’t get enough of the story, and I appreciate that it was told through the eyes of a young girl. It is heartbreaking to think of a mother and her young daughters being left behind because they were viewed as burdens, and I admire their resilience and how they never lost hope.

This is a fabulous debut, and I could see the love and care with which Eve treated the characters. The book is inspired by her personal family history and it shows.

This is a powerful, hopeful story that shows the resilience and enduring love of a mother and her daughters. I recommend it to any historical fiction fans!

I do not read much historical fiction, but I am so glad I picked this book up.

It was so heartbreaking to follow much of Hai's journey starting with being mistreated and overlooked as a young girl in her own family. She, her sisters, and mother endured so much as the Communist regime took over the county. Their journey was often harrowing but you also see the joy, friendship, and strength Hai finds as they try to make their way to Taiwan.

Eve Chung's writing was engaging and so descriptive and I can't stop thinking about this story. It is a fantastic first novel.

What a heartbreaking and beautifully written book about diaspora not across continents but within a single continent, about historical struggles with heartfelt personal connections that ring true and the emotions often overwhelming and raw. It is truly an honour and privilege that we are able to tell the stories of those who came before us, those whose lives made it so ours are not so bitter, so that us as descendants can enjoy the fruits of generational labour. The characters are imperfect, flawed, frustrating, sympathetic, stubborn, ambitious, resilient, and I cannot help but feel the weight of their growth but also the pains of their falls throughout this journey of a book that covered such an expansiveness.

I really enjoyed this novel.

I appreciated the female perspective of the aftermath of the communist revolution in China. It also brought to light for me the refugee experience in Hong Kong. While the end may have dragged a bit for me, I liked how it was meant to be a closed loop on the protagonists journey.

Reading the Author's note at the end also gave perspective to the history and the importance of the fictional story. I loved that this was the author's way to fill in the gaps of her grandma's experience by finding any possible archival research material that could shed more light.

A thoroughly researched and well-written novel, I recommend this book to those who are interested in historical fiction and women's rights.

This book was fascinating. On reflection, I’m sad that I didn’t know anything about the history of how China became a Communist country or about their civil war. I was glad to learn about these events through this book.

There’s a lot of hardship here but it’s ultimately an uplifting story. I just read “Lady Tan’s Circle of Women” with my book club. It is set in 1400s China and we were appalled at the treatment of women. This book is set 500 years later, and there is still a lot of misogyny, but there’s progress shown here that I wish I could have seen for Lady Tan.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This historical fiction book was a quick and engrossing read. I love when historical fiction tackles an era/location that is not typically seen and this one is definitely that. I will admit I didn’t know much and had not read about China as the communists took over from the Nationalists. The story is told by Hai, the oldest of three daughters. Hai’s mother is treated poorly by her in-laws especially after she keeps giving birth to girls. Hai, her mother, and her sisters are left behind when the communists are coming to guard the family home. Any thoughts of defending it are instantly forgotten when they see the crowds. Their journey to try to find the rest of their family is harrowing and full of hardship. I really liked Hai, she was a great character. It was very interesting to get a glimpse into another culture and a time period I didn’t know much about. This book was one of my favorite historical fiction books I’ve read in the last year and I will be keeping an eye out for more from Eve J. Chung.

It is a heartbreaking but inspiring novel. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel for Eve J. Chung. The writing was beautiful, as well as a masterfully written, powerful story. Reading these types of novels that explore the struggle of war, oppressive culture, and devastating poverty is hard to imagine what I would do if these were things I had to face and experience. Honestly, I don't know if I could have been as strong and resilient as Hai, her mother, and Hai's sisters were in their fight for survival. It's been a few weeks since I've read Daughters Of Shandong, and I still think about it. I highly recommend this novel to well.. everyone.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

This was such a standout historical fiction debut about family, survival, love and resistance. Set in 1950s China we follow one mother as she struggles to keep her daughters alive after being abandoned by her husband during the tumult of Mao's rule. Told from the perspective of her daughter, this book is heartbreaking and moving in equal parts and I couldn't put it down. HIGHLY recommended for fans of authors like Lisa See, Amy Tan and books like Wild swans by Jung Chang. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This is one not to miss!

This is a very interesting piece of historical fiction based on the author's family and their experiences in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as they tried to find their way after the Communist take over. The story is hard to read in places, the violence that rained down on the people as well as the treatment of women with their own families is brutal. Happily, the main character of the story finds the strength to move on from the trauma and finds her own way. It's a story of character and tenacity.

“I was caught in a tug-of-war of karma between the sins of my father and the good deeds of my mother.”

DAUGHTERS OF SHANDONG is a powerful debut novel, illuminating the harrowing journey of a mother and her three daughters abandoned by their greater family as the Communist revolution sweeps through China. Together, they will face years of danger, hunger, disease and living within the shadows from one city to the next on their journey to safety.

At the core of this novel is the harsh reality of sexism in China’s traditional culture. As women and girls, they are seen as disposable and their worth dependent solely on providing an heir to the family, so not worth saving when the greater Ang family members flee from Shandong to safer, Nationalist-held territories. Another core part of the novel is the relationships between mother and daughters and sister to sister. Despite ongoing setbacks, each character evolves tremendously and faces each new obstacle with bravery and resilience. Hai and Di are only a year apart, but they each perceive the experience so differently, forced to grow up and take on immense responsibility too early.

Much of the novel is painful to read. They’re harassed and nearly killed by Communist cadres for their family’s name, they live in a shed shared with livestock and fight others for garbage scraps to survive and even walk for days straight with a forged ID in hopes of getting into the next city, with a toddler on their back and a wheelbarrow for their sparse belongings. Although heavy and heartbreaking, the story progresses with strength and ends with hope and you’ll be pulled to continue reading to see them through to the other side.

This is hands down one of my top reads of the year and I’m rooting for this to be the debut novel of the year. What a testament to the strength of women and what a powerful tribute to Chung’s own family’s story. I loved that Hai and Di were determined to fight the cycle of oppression against women and we see this come to fruition in the ending chapters. It’s not a light read, but it’s a beautiful and impactful story with an empowering message.

Thanks so much to @berkleypub for the advanced digital copy and finished physical copy. Available TODAY!

I had the opportunity to listening to Eve C. talk about her book a few months ago with Berkley Pub and that made me want to read this debut novel even more! Chung’s writing of this story was inspired by her own family’s history and it was phenomenal!

From the beginning, Chung caught my attention with reading of the Aug family’s dynamic. How Hai, and her mom, were treated as women. Also, how Hai’s mother was treated by her mother-in-law. The focused was more on her mom having a male heir; however, she kept having girls. When the communist began to invade, the women were treated as expendable. We see how resilient and strong Hai, her mom and sisters were as they endure many hardships during these times.

This story was so captivating from the start. I did not want to stop reading once I began. There was not one dull moment reading about the wartime, the travels, how they were treated, and the final pages of them story. To see how these women persevered throughout their travels, being left behind to fend for themselves. All that I can say is, the power of women!

I paired this along with the audiobook and the narrator was just as amazing as the words on the page. She told the story and conveyed the emotions, and feelings with every scene! Loved it and this debut novel!

During the Communist revolution, Maoist PLA members enter the village of Shandong, brutally tearing families apart. Hai, left with her mother and two younger sisters, finds herself attacked and "punished", almost dying from the treatment. Her mother escapes with the family, attempting to reach first Qingdao and then Taiwan, suffering extreme hardship. Well written.

Daughters of Shandong is a powerful novel and a stunning debut. This is my first time reading a book set during the Chinese Civil War (though I have read books set in surrounding times and involving Chinese politics of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s), and I found it both illuminating and harrowing. When the wealthy, land-owning Ang family flees Shandong and the Communists for safer, Nationalist-held territories, they leave behind the eldest son’s wife and three daughters. As women and girls, they’re seen as disposable, not worth saving too. Hai is the first-born of these three daughters; Di is a year younger, and they’re rounded out by their baby sister and mother. Together, they will face years of danger, hunger, disease, and living in the shadows as they journey towards safety.

At the core of Daughters of Shandong is the harsh reality of sexism in China’s traditional culture. Hai’s mother is expected to give birth to a son, and her own worth is dependent on providing a male heir. With only daughters so far, she’s treated like a slave by the wealthy Ang family, and despised enough to be left to die when the Communists make it to town. Again and again throughout the novel, Hai and her mom and sisters are faced with limitations and even abhorrence from their own family. But without those Angs around anymore, these four girls and women will discover their own inner strength and resilience.

Another powerful theme is of the relationships between sisters—mainly between Hai and Di—as well as the relationship between mother and daughter. Hai narrates the whole novel; she is obedient and diligent, soft-spoken and eager to learn, but she faces some of the worst effects of the Angs abandoning her and her mom and sisters. She couldn’t be more unlike Di, her sister who is only one year younger. Di is a firecracker, independent and full of opinions, but at times reckless and short-sighted. Then there are the two sisters’ disparate relationships with their mom. Hai gets along well with their mother, but Di is often at odds with her. As Daughters of Shandong progresses, these relationships evolve in some ways, but many characteristics may be set in stone, no matter the circumstances they’re placed in. (Case in point: their evil grandmother. What an awful woman!)

Most of this novel is painful to read. Hai and her small family fall farther down in society, first being abandoned and left to face the wrath of the Communists. They live in a shed before setting out on foot for Qingdao, the nearest big city and where the rest of the Angs fled to. But from there to Hong Kong, they go from homelessness to refugees, suffering malnutrition and uncertainty about their future. Yet even with all the struggles they face over the years, Daughters of Shandong is written in a way that is completely entrancing, propelling the reader forward with each candid description and each beautiful turn of phrase.

A novel like this would generally feel heavy and heartbreaking, but despite all the hardships Hai and her family endure, it progresses with strength and ends with hope. Hai is determined to break the cycle of oppression against women. From one generation to the next, she envisions how she and her future daughter can reject the traditions that subjugate women and instead forge their own paths and independence. The last few chapters speed by, feeling like an extended epilogue, but they conclude the novel on an uplifting note.

Daughters of Shandong is a beautifully written, edifying, and impactful novel. I enjoyed learning more about this period of China’s history, seeing a deeply troubled family fractured by war, and watching as these women overcome such adversity to reclaim their lives. It’s not a light read, but it is tied up with an empowering message by the end. This is an incredible debut, and I look forward to reading more from Eve J. Chung.

Chung wrote a tremendous book! It takes readers on the tumultuous journey of Hai, her mother, and her sisters as they are abandoned by their family and left to fend for themselves as communism took over China.
Their experiences were harrowing and I read every sentence with bated breath, wondering what would happen next.
One of my favorite parts was the dressing down Hai and Di finally dished out to Nai Nai, who should have been dumped in the South China Sea.
I thought Hai’s father was a coward and I also was angry at her mother toward the end when she caved to tradition and the favoritism and partiality toward males.
It’s a wonderful read, full of culture and context. Chung says at the end of the book it’s not meant to be historical, but she based it off her grandmother’s experiences. Readers will get a good grasp on how hard the communist takeover was on millions of people and the suffering they endured.

Daughters of Shandong is a historical fiction novel about a woman and her children who face nearly insurmountable odds when China falls to communism.

Hai, her sisters (Di and Lan), and her mother (Chiang-Yue) have been living as second-class citizens in their home in the Shandong countryside. As landowners, they live in relative luxury, but without a male heir, her mother’s position in the household is low, and she’s often ridiculed and punished by her cruel mother-in-law. When they are warned that the Communist army is marching toward Shandong, it is decided that Chiang-Yue will stay behind with her daughters to defend their land and that the rest of the family will move to a safer location without the extra female mouths to feed. But immediately, the house is seized by the Communist army, and thirteen-year-old Hai is punished in place of her absent father, grandfather, and uncle. In fear for their lives, Chiang-Yue and her children will flee their province and become refugees with no money and protection while trying to reunite with the rest of their family in the middle of a civil war. Constantly on the move, they find unimaginable poverty and conditions along with small pockets of kindness and community.

Daughters of Shandong is a fascinating story of an era where women and girls are held in such little regard within their own family that it can cost them their lives. But Chiang-Yue’s difficult life under her mother-in-law and love for her daughters made her resourceful and strong even in the most dire circumstances. The reader can’t help but root for them to defy the odds and prosper despite their circumstances. The book is nicely paced with plenty of plot along with character and historical detail. I really enjoyed the author's note where she explained her inspiration and research. I look forward to reading more from Eve J. Chung in the future.