Inspired by an Idaho road marker author Zhang saw about five Chinese immigrants lynched in the late 1800s, this novel is a propulsive feat of historical fiction.

Daiyu is a young Chinese girl whose parents are taken by the government. Her grandmother disguises her as a boy and sends her away from certain death. Daiyu finds refuge in a bustling town, but her temporary reprieve is extinguished when she's kidnapped and sent to the American West. Here, she endures not only harrowing struggles to survive, but also racist atrocities fueled by The Chinese Expulsion Act.

This isn't an easy book it read. Daiyu's struggles, at times, seem particularly unrelenting, yet it's a credit to Zhang's prose that the moments of levity, joy, and love feel as vivid as the pain and tragedy. Daiyu's connection with her namesake imbued the book with a mystical tone that was also engaging.

While hard to read in many parts, this is an engrossing book that kept me riveted. A powerful debut!