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4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 14 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Excellent historical novel during the Gilded Age
Format: Hardcover
During the late 1800's Jo Kuan lives with her stand-in father, Old Gin, in a basement. She works as a milliner's assistant until she is let go one day because her employer deems that she is too opinionated and makes customers uncomfortable. However, there is one customer, Mrs. Bell, who admires Jo's craftmanship making intricate knots, which happens to be the lady who resides in the same residence as Jo. However, Mrs. Bell doesn't know Jo and Old Gin take refuge below the residence. Jo is given the opportunity to write as Miss Sweetie for the Focus's advice column when she sends an anonymous letter to the Bells. Miss Sweetie creates a huge buzz in her community. Jo anonymously writes articles regarding societal norms during the Gilded Age time period. What a great opportunity for someone who is "too opinionated." While she works as a lady's maid at the Paynes household during the day, she moonlights as Miss Sweetie at night.
Stacey Lee tells a wonderful and insightful story of what it means to be Asian in the South of the United States in the late 1800's. I am always delighted to read historical fiction with characters I can relate to. I often wonder how life was for Chinese-Americans in the past. There is hardly any information about the history of Chinese-Americans living in the United States and how life was for them. Lee is one of my favorite historical fiction novelists. Her characters are relatable and I love being transported to a different time period and a different location every time I pick up one of her books.
I absolutely love the voice of Jo. She is sassy but she knows her place. Jo is an advocate of women's rights and equality for all races. Being of Chinese descent, she teeters in between Whites and Blacks. It's hard to find a place in society, especially since there are not many Asian people living in the United States at the time. Most Chinese in the States at the time are men working on the railroad. Jo is longing to know more information regarding her parents. Who is her birth father? Who is her birth mother? Why was she given up? Jo is fortunate to have Old Gin raise her. The twist at the end caught me off guard for sure.
Although Jo may feel out of place, she has Old Gin as her family. I also enjoyed reading how Jo finds solace in Sweet Potato and she finds friendship with Noemi. Jo even has a complex relationship with Caroline Payne, who can be very cruel.
The Downstairs Girl shows readers a glimpse of the Gilded Age and what is it like to live as an Asian American during that time period. Jo defies the stereotype of Asian women being docile and quiet. Not only does she defy the stereotype for Asian women but she defies the gender stereotype of being a lady. Jo is quite capable of doing what a man does and she is quite outspoken. From writing in a newspaper to horse racing, Jo can do anything!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2019
★★★★★ 5
A story of someone who refuses to settle for less
Format: Hardcover
Stacey Lee takes you into a world you’re probably familiar with if you paid any attention in your U.S. History class and helps you see it in new ways. Most of us are familiar with the agonies of post reconstruction era South, but few stories shine a spotlight on the Chinese laborers who were shipped in by Southern plantation owners to replace emancipated slaves. This is the world seventeen-year-old Jo Kwan lives in. Much of Jo’s life is lived in secret. She can’t rent, let alone own, property, so she’s forced to live with her uncle in the basement of a white family who owns a failing newspaper. She can’t interact directly with the white patrons of the hat store because her boss says she makes the customers “uncomfortable.” She can’t even participate in the growing Suffrage movement because the women are only concerned with advancing the rights of white women.
What’s a strong, opinionated girl to do? Start an advice column.
She starts submitting columns to the paper under the pseudonym Miss Sweetie and immediately attracts attention, both good and bad, from Atlanta’s high society. Through the column, Jo finds her voice and an outlet to express views on her segregated and chauvinistic society. The more freedom she experiences, the more she wants and soon she is uncovering secrets of her past that threaten to ruin her.
The Downstairs Girl never lets the reader forget how crushing life was for Chinese and Black Americans during this time, but the book isn’t a downer. Mostly this is due to Jo Kwan being such a spirited and sympathetic character. Her story is one of someone who refuses to settle for less and it’s fun watching her get the best of some of her antagonists. Lee’s writing is also witty and engaging, filled with the kind of southern colloquialisms that help transport the reader to this time and place.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2019
★★★★★ 4
A great vacation read
Format: Kindle
I was looking for something interesting but not a lengthy novel. Really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read while on vacation and is anchored in a historical perspective I had not ever considered, that of being both Chinese and a woman in the South (Atlanta) at the time of the Women’s suffrage movement. The character is subject to the same segregation laws and lack of rights as a Black woman at the time. This is a clever, strong, female character who surmounts several obstacles created by the environment in which she lives.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2021
★★★★★ 3
It was alright
Format: Kindle
Pervious to this book, I had no knowledge of the struggles of the Chinese in the South during the post Civil War era. For that reason, I'm glad I read this book.
I enjoyed that this book discussed and gave perspective on many social issues of that time.
The main character is spunky and likable.
There are many unbelievable scenes and conversations that I did not enjoy because they seemed too far-fetched. Why the author had to include a description of a naked man was also not to my liking. Worst of all, though, was the incredible number of similes in this book. There were just too many, and it got annoying.
Overall, it was good enough to read, but I do not highly recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2023
★★★★★ 5
A Chinese in Atlanta
Format: Kindle
The Girl Downstairs was a charming book. Although the writing isn’t particularly sophisticated, it felt like Jo was letting us peek into the pages of her diary—raw, honest, and deeply personal. Her journey, as the main character, was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Through her eyes, we witness the simple beauty of connection and the ugly truth of prejudice that has plagued our country for far too long. It’s a powerful reminder that humanity should never be measured by the color of one’s skin. This is another great YA read—I highly recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2025