Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I picked up this one because I love Anna May Wong. This book gave a lot of good context for her life. If you’re curious at all about the actress, I would suggest this book.

Rating:4/5

The Diverse Baseline

October Prompt C: A book of your choice by a BIPOC author

While I pride myself on consuming Asian American and Asian diaspora media nowadays, I embarrassingly didn’t know about Anna May Wong until Gemma Chan channeled her at the 2021 MET Gala. A film star at the height of racism, Anna pioneered the way for Chinese Americans in film. Growing up, my mom remembers Joy Luck Club as the only representation she saw in books and on film. For me, many years later, it’s Crazy Rich Asians.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the ALC.

In this extensively researched look at the life of Anna May Wong, and the world she was navigating we are immersed in early to mid 20th Century America and China, following the first Chinese American film super star.

Raised in LA, Wong found a way into the movies as a teenager, first as an extra and eventually starring in a number of films at a time when the American public was extremely racist. From the Birth of a Nation to anti-miscegenation, Wong defied odds to make a career. We learn about her life, her travels and the climate she was moving through to the end of her career where racism and ageism collided to leave her behind.

This is a fascinating story of a woman, and a world that at times feels so foreign and at others is too familiar. Narrated by Rebecca Lam’s soothing voice