The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

 

She came from a lineage known for good fortune…by those who don't know the whole story. 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

May 2025; Sourcebooks Landmark; 978-1728284866
audio, ebook, print (416 pages); historical fiction

At the beginning of this novel, Celia wakes up in an underground tunnel and realizes that she has been shanghaied and is on the verge of being shipped off as forced labor.  It wouldn't be safe for her to work on a ship as a female, so she changes her appearance so that she appears to be a young male.  She tries to escape, knowing that she will be leaving everyone she loves behind - especially her young daughter.  She has spent her life trying to adapt to society of that time - even though she is half Chinese, she has spent her entire life passing as white.  As she lays in the tunnel and tries to figure out how to escape, she thinks about her previous life as a maid for a rich family who fell in love with their rich son.  When the parents found out that their son was the father of her baby, she was sent to a brothel to work as a housekeeper.  One of her main goals was to find out more about the massacre where dozens of Chinese workers were murdered in a nearby town -- one of those killed was her father.  Her life had been full of trouble, but she was determined that her daughter's life would be better.  She was a strong woman who had to rely on her strength to make a better life.

This book was the story of resilience and hope and explores racism and family.  It looks at the power of women as they find out how strong they are as they try to make changes in their world.  If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a book that you don't want to miss. 

As with other books by this author, her research was apparent as she brought a subject to light that many people are not aware of.  I learned a lot about racism against the Chinese in this book, and spent time after I read it googling to get more information.  I was not aware of the racism that existed against the Chinese during this time period.  Large numbers of Chinese came to the West Coast in the late 1800s to mine and to help on the construction of the railroads.  Chinese workers would work for less money, so white Americans felt that their jobs were being stolen by the Chinese workers.  Plus, it was widely believed that the Chinese were an inferior race.  It wasn't until 1927 that Chinese people were allowed to vote in Oregon.  

Buy The Girls of Good Fortune at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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