Chinese Cinderella And The Secret Dragon Society (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
In Chinese Cinderella: the True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter, Adeline Yen Mah told the story of her life growing up in Shanghai, China during the 1940s as the daughter of a prosperous father and a cruel stepmother. In Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society, she has taken the same story and turned it into an exciting fantasy novel.Ye Xian, nicknamed Chinese Cinderella or CC, is 12 when her father throws her out of the house for being disrespectful to her stepmother. She befriends three boys who live with their kung fu teacher, Grandma Wu, at the Martial Arts Academy. David is half American, half Chinese and a Christian; Sam is half German, half Chinese and Jewish; Marat is half Russian, Japanese and Muslim; Grandma Wu is Chinese and a Buddhist. The boys are orphans, very proficient in kung fu, and belong to The Dragon Society, a branch of the Shaolin Association of Wandering Knights, dedicated to helping the oppressed and downtrodden. Pretty soon, CC has also joined them and becomes quite skillful at kung fu and wishes to join the society. China has been occupied by the Japanese since 1937 and it is now 1942. One night, Grandma Wu and her son, Master Wu, gather the children together and explain a secret plan to help American flyers who are planning to bomb Japan. They soon travel to southeast China, but the plan goes awry and the group end up rescuing 5 Americans who crash land on the Chinese island of Nan Tian. Now, they must get the badly injured Americans to mainland China where they can get medical help, but the sea around the island are patrolled by Japanese soldiers. They finally do manage to board a sail boat called a Junk, but soon they are pursued by a Japanese gunboat. It looks like they will all be caught when the breeze dies down and the Junk comes to a standstill. But they are saved by Ling Ling, a dolphin that had been befriended and trained by David and her dolphin cousin Bumby.Back in Shanghai, CC, whose family thinks she has been living with her beloved Big Aunt, is advised to move back home because her stepmother is threatening to accuse her aunt of kidnapping. But living at home doesn’t last long. When CC receives a package from Big Aunt, who has been temporarily living on Nan Tian Island, which incriminates both of them in the rescue of the Americans, her stepmother implies she is going to permanently end CC relationship with her aunt. CC runs away to Grandma Wu, but they receive very bad news about a violent Japanese attack in Nan Tian, including the death of Big Aunt. CC naturally suspects her stepmother of having a hand in this unusually cruel behavior. At the same time, she comes up with a plan to rescue other Americans being held prisoner by the Japanese at Bridge House in Shanghai, the same prison Marat’s older brother is a prisoner. Can yet another exciting escape succeed?I thought this was a very interesting tense story, full of adventure, though sometimes the writing was a little too pedantic. Nevertheless, Yen Mah writes compassionately about these children who are considered to be outcasts by society. The tone of the whole story is one of hope and resourcefulness even in the face of brutality, oppression and vindictiveness – by the Japanese occupiers and for CC, also by her stepmother. In the face of all that, friendship, overcoming, and even acceptance become important themes throughout the story.Through CC’s initiation into The Dragon Society, Yen Mah is able to weave extensive explanations about important Chinese culture and beliefs into the story. At the heart of The Secret Dragon Society is the philosophy of Taoism, including the life force Qi (pronounced Chee), the Yi Jing (or I Ching), the concepts of yin yang, the principles of strength, power and control embedded in kung fu and the Chinese Zodiac. Sometimes this gets complicated. For instance, when CC is told to consult the Yi Jing by casting the yarrow sticks before joining the society, I was totally lost. I found the writing confusing here, though it did peak my interest in the Yi Jing and I will probably get more information on it. I am afraid younger readers might just skip over these parts, but hopefully not be discouraged from finishing CCs story. The central story, the rescue of the Americans, is based on a true event. In April 1942, Jimmy Doolittle actually did lead a bombing raid on Japan, but the outcome was very different than the one in Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society. This book is a historical novel and so there is a Historical Note at the end of the book, which I would recommend reading first. It gives a brief history of the author’s family and the Japanese occupation of China and the true events surrounding the bombing of Japan and its cruel aftermath unleashed by the Japanese against the Chinese. In that way, the reader knows what is factual and what has been fabricated by the author.Despite some of the problems with this novel, I would still highly recommend it. Personally, I think it would be more beneficial for this novel to be read under the guidance of a teacher, given some of the content. There is an extensive teaching guide available on Adeline Yen Mah’s website that would be very useful for that. And it might be interesting to read this fantasy novel in tandem with its biographical counterpart, Chinese Cinderella: the True Story of an Unwanted Daughter.This book is recommended for readers age 10-14.This book was purchased for my personal library.Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society was read as part of The Summer 2011 Diversify Your Reading Challenge
Yet another review by yours truly! So here's the story: I went to the library to pick up a few books, like I usually do, and I saw this amazing beauty on the shelf. I just love the cover. It has a dragon people! A dragon! Do you know how much I bloody love dragons? (It's one of the main reasons I love Eon but Allison Goodman so much!) Anyway, when I saw that cover and read what it was about, I just had to take it home with me. I mean, it's about a girl who is treated harshly by her stepmother whilst being thrown into what the Chinese went through during WWII with some fantasy elements mixed in. How could I resist? However, I was disappointed once I started to read it. As a historical book about the war, it's an amazing read. Buy as a fantasy book with a Cinderella twist, it was sorely lacking. There really isn't much to the plot and the characters are bland as hell. I was hoping to get a lot more out of it... too bad I didn't.Adeline Yen Mah's writing style was very simple. Almost juvenile. I'm not too big of a fan on her writing style. I thought, given the subject matter, it should have been a bit more complex. Although, considering this is meant more for children than it is for, say, a historian, I do not fault her for writing this book so simply. The historical facts are written clearly and to the point. No one will be able to overlook something because of it. And trust me, I did enjoy those aspects of the book. Now, for the parts of the story I thought Mah could have improved on. The fantasy parts. Where's the fantasy? There were only two scenes that had some kind of fantasy twist to it and even then, it is very hard to see it. If Mah's main goal was to let people know how the Chinese suffered during the time of WWII then she should had written a book solely on that. But no. She wanted to write a "fantasy novel that included a lot of realism." ...do you even know the meaning of "fantasy?" Oh well, I'm just being picky. Another thing should could improve on were her characters. I'll explain why below.They. All. Had. The. Same. Personality. I'm not even kidding. There were no distinctions between the behavioral patterns or how they talked. Every single one of them was so boring I had to force myself to keep my eyes open. Besides having one trait that made them stick out from the others (one was great in martial arts, another was very smart, etc.), they all acted the same... as if Mah didn't know how to change her characters personality. Not even Ye Xian(or CC), our protagonist, had anything remarkable about her. (The only thing that made her awesome was when she bit her stepmother... was that a spoiler?) Speaking of stepmother, she's the only other character that had a different personality but that's because she is supposed to be overly bitchy. I didn't like her... What can I say? I was not a fan of the plot of CC being abused by both her stepmother and father and the characters being all the same with the exception of one. Come on, Mah! You could have done better in that aspect!I can't really talk much more about the book. It's very short and I fear I might let something slip if I keep going. As I've said, it's a decent book. If you are looking for a book that shows the Chinese side of things during the war then pick this book up. It will not disappoint you then. However, if you are looking for a fantastical adventure that incorporates the story of Cinderella and WWII, then you're are going to be disappointed. I know I was. Then, you must be wondering why I gave it a three? Well, it's great with the historical facts, you get to picture China in your mind, and I just love Marat (he's one of the few characters I loved in this book on account of the fact he knew a whole bunch of languages)! And we all know how much I love languages. (I may be a little biased towards his character... XP) Anyway, if you're curious, go ahead and pick this book up! But I advise to get it from the library first then purchase it if you really like it. Well, that's all from me today! See you soon with my next review! ^_^
What do You think about Chinese Cinderella And The Secret Dragon Society (2006)?
I decided to read this book because it fits into one of the categorys on the bingo board. This book fits into the category a book that teaches you about another culture other than your own. This category is interesting because you learn about other peoples life styles and how they live. My favourite quote from this quote is “Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities.” Something new i learned from this book is no matter how much you might dislike someone you'll miss then once their gone. A character i ound interesting was Aunty Baba because she loved all her neices by didn't always try to mke life better for them.
—Olivia Cooper
"Ye Xian dijuluki Chinese Cinderella oleh Bibi Sulung. Dari inisial julukan itulah Ye Xian mendapat nama baratnya, CC. Karena bertengkar dengan ibu tirinya, CC diusir dari rumahnya dan bergabung dengan kelompok Long Xia Hui. Di kelompok itu, dia bersahabat dengan Sam, Marat dan David yang merupakan anak2 blasteran. Mereka mendapatkan tugas untuk menyelamatkan pilot2 Amerika dari kekejaman tentara Jepang..."Cerita ini ditulis Adeline Yen Mah berdasarkan kejadian nyata yang terjadi di Cina pada Perang Dunia II. Adeline menulis cerita ini saat masih di bangku SD untuk mengusir kesepian. Adeline dengan lugas menuliskan perasaannya yang sedih dan kesepian melalui tokoh CC. Waktu gw baca buku ini, gw merasakan ketegangan bagaimana CC dan kawan2 mencoba menyelamatkan para pilot Amerika dari patroli Jepang. Gw juga merasakan kesedihan CC karena diperlakukan buruk oleh ibu tirinya dan ayahnya tidak bisa berbuat apa2. Bisa dibilang, Adeline menempatkan dirinya sebagai CC.Melalui buku ini, kita bisa mendapatkan pesan mengenai kekejaman perang, persahabatan, dan juga kasih sayang keluarga.
—Maddy Pertiwi
Inspired by the stories the budding writer Adeline Yen Mah used to write as a child, this book, ‘Chinese Cinderella And The Secret Dragon Society’ is a fantasy novel, for children, based off the stories she used to write as a child as well as the movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.This book is the second title I have read by Adeline Yen Mah and though it is not biographical, there are elements that I recognized from her autobiography, Chinese Cinderella....Read the rest of the review here:http://metalrizon.wordpress.com/2013/...
—Sandra Nyamu
