To me, writing was pure pleasure. It thrilled me to be able to escape the horrors of my daily life in such a simple way. When I wrote, I forgot that I was the unwanted daughter who caused her mother's death. I could be anybody I wished to be.

When her mother dies shortly after her birth, lonely Adeline is marked as 'bad luck' and treated as an outcast by her own family, shown kindness only by her grandfather and Aunt Baba who encourage her to follow her dreams.

Adeline strives to win her father's acceptance by excelling in school, but instead discovers an escape in the friendships of her classmates and her talent for writing. For the first time Adeline allows herself to dream of a real future as a writer and yearns to study in England with her brother - but it is a future she will have to fight with every ounce of strength she has to achieve.

Product Details

Format: Paperback | 288 pages
Language: English
ISBN: 9780241615997
Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
Publication date: 23 Feb 2023
Category: True Stories
Author: Adeline Yen Mah