This beautiful story about war, heritage, and the importance of stories follows three generations of the Dao family: Meilin, a widowed mother trying to care for her son as they are forced to flee their home in China during World War II; Renshu, Meilin’s son who grows up in war torn China and Taiwan, and eventually moves to the United States to study; and Lily, Renshu’s only child who struggles to find her identity as a half Chinese half Caucasian girl who doesn’t know much about her heritage because her father doesn’t want to talk about the past.

This was a beautiful novel that was so heartfelt and well written. I feel like it taught me so much about China’s history and the hardships Chinese people endured after WWII. I loved the telling of old folk stories that was woven throughout the book. And I also enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end and learning that this was semi-autobiographical.