Three and a half stars. I was caught up in Mei Ling's journey from rural China to the Bay area, the obstacles she faced and how she ultimately overcome them. I especially liked the unexpected event at the end of the book (I don't want to give anything away). I would definitely read more books by the author. I learned so much about paper wives, Chinese immigration in the 1920s, and Angel Island.

I finished this novel about a week ago, and basically regretted finishing it because the next novel I read just couldn't compare. Paper Wife is a family saga that stretches between a Guangdong village and San Francisco.

The story begins in a tiny Chinese village, where Mei Ling's family has fallen on hard times. The family worries about paying the matchmaker's fees for Mei's older sister, JehJah, and when the matchmaker offers a prosperous widower, with a toddler son and papers for America, it's the best they could possibly have hoped for. All JehJah has to do is pretend to be Christian for her husband-to-be, and pretend to be his dead first wife for the immigration authorities.  When Jehjah catches a fever immediately before leaving, all Mei Ling has to do is pretend to be her sister... (I was briefly confused because the Chinese names and places weren't uniformly transliterated into pin yin or Wade-Giles, but I'm pretty sure that Jehjah is 姐姐. )

So Mei leaves for San Francisco... pretending to be her sister, who's supposed to be pretending to be Kai Li's dead wife, traveling with a new husband who's also pretending to be a very different person. On the ship, steerage is separated by gender, so separated from her new husband, and travels with her new stepson.  This reminded me of the Korean picture brides in Honolulu, with all the travel unpleasantness and the completely unknown husband.  But in this case, as soon as Mei arrives, she has to pass an immigration interview, pretending to be someone else.

In San Francisco, Mei and her new husband, plus her new stepson and Siew, a young orphan girl from the boat, have to build new lives. Her husband isn't as wealthy as he seems, and he's also keeping his own secrets. Siew's "uncle" doesn't seem quite upfront, either.  But hardworking Mei might be strong enough and clever enough to make a new and better life, for them all. There is one thing that Mei does that just seemed wildly out of character, but it's a major spoiler. (Seriously, don't click if you're going to read the book.)

Overall, I enjoyed the layers of secrets and overlapping identities. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of San Francisco life, especially things I didn't know much about, like the English schools or Mei's time on Angel Island.

I absolutely LOVE all of Laila's books!! This one was no different. Laila knows how to develop characters anyone can fall in love with. Her research is beyond perfect. If you don't know what a "paper wife" is -- you need to read this book!! If you love historical fiction -- you need to read this book!

What a book!! So many unexpected turns and twists. A strong and moving story about coming to USA and so much more. You should read!!!
Thank you NetGalley for free Advance Review Copy!

Her sister is getting ready to go to America. Her parents and a matchmaker have found her a husband that she will meet as they get married. Mei Ling has accepted the fact that there is no choice in the matter. They are in bad financial condition and they need less mouths to feed. But she's very unhappy when her sister gets ill and they send Mei Ling in her place. She doesn't want to go but she must...

Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It is being published today.

Mei Ling is a "paper" wife. The man she is marrying has a small boy. His wife has died. He can use his wife's passport to get Mei Ling into America. But she has to memorize all the details his wife had told the customs people. They don't want Chinese especially, so if you fail to answer the questions the same, you are sent back. What Mei Ling finds is that there are several more "paper" people on board. Even children.

The marriage ceremony goes well, they spend their honeymoon in Hong Kong, and then they are on their way. The men are sent to one part of the ship and the women and children to another. Mei Ling makes a few friends on the way. One little girl takes care of their little boy and becomes part of the family. When it's time for them to go through customs, Mei Ling must answer the questions right, be checked out out by a doctor and then wait to see if she's approved. The facility she's in is more like a prison than anything. She's also pregnant. That makes the customs approval a little harder.

My grandparents immigrated from Czechoslovakia. Grandma had a three year old girl with her and they questioned her a lot, too. I think that's why these stories appeal to me.

Mei Ling learns things are different in the states and not everyone is a good person. She's also afraid her husband might leave her over the baby since she's been told it's a girl. She worries a lot, but all is not lost.

This historical read was very good and very authentic. I'd highly recommend this one.

A beautiful and moving book about a young woman forced to hide her identity and become a " paper wife" in order to move to the United States following an arranged marriage in China in 1923. Mei Ling is brave and resourceful and despite misgivings about assuming the identity of a dead woman, she knows it is the only way she will be able to move to America with her new husband. On the arduous sea voyage she not only learns that she is pregnant, but also must take care of her husband's young son from his previous marriage. Despite this she also finds herself taking care of Siew, a young girl separated from her Uncle for the long sea journey. When they eventually arrive in San Francisco, she must pass the immigration tests before she can be reunited with her husband. Despite a rough start, and her new life being much harder than she had been led to believe., her marriage is largely happy, the only shadow is her fears for Siew, who may be forced into prostitution to repay a debt that is not even her own.
Full of wonderful characters and vividly descriptive , this beautiful book held my interest from the very first page. I became invested in Mei Ling and her various struggles , and loved seeing her transformation from a hesitant and reluctant paper wife to a fulfilled and happy wife and mother, with friends and even her own business. The growth and development of her character is the real hear of this very enjoyable book.
I read an reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This is the story of immigrants from China in the 1920s. Well-written, well-researched. This was an enjoyable read! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to Laila Ibrahim, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Mei Ling is facing a future she never imagined. The matchmaker has matched her with Chinn Kai Li and she must leave her family and everything familiar in China to marry him and move to America. Due to stricter immigration laws, she is forced to take on the identity of his first wife and mother of his young son, Wong Lew She, becoming a paper wife. This story follows her new life through her journey to America, the struggle of being detained and interrogated on Angel Island, and adjusting to family life with her adopted son and husband in San Francisco.
I think Mei Ling is such a strong female character in this book. She faced so many challenges and learned to find happiness and love with her new family in a strange country where she can't understand the language or customs. And as her Ahma taught her, she will do anything to protect her children.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

paper wife started up on an expected premise, but quickly became more. A story about family, resilience and making the best of every situation. An easy read with enjoyable characters.

Nicely done historical fiction. This is well researched and written and it's got a good plot. You will feel for these women, who didn't expect to have the lives they got. Mei Ling is terrific. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim is a story that I've read before. A woman is sent to marry a man in a foreign land...and then circumstances show that the man isn't honest, etc etc. To be honest, I've been reading fiction with an Asian focus for most of my life. Paper Wife is good, but it's not great. It's rather young adult for readers of this type of book.

Thanks to netGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An interesting and well-written look into the lives of Chinese immigrants to the USA in the 1920s. Mei LIng, the main character, has to take her sister's place when the village matchmaker arranges a marriage with a widower who is travelling back to the USA. She will be his 'paper wife', that is, for immigration purposes will pose as his dead wife rather than try to obtain new travel documents. This was apparently a common practice at the time. The story covers their journey to San Francisco and subsequent struggles to earn a living. The historical detail was good, and I enjoyed the story's progression to 1939 where it ends.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Mei Ling’s parents arrange a marriage to a widower in California. To enter the country, she must pretend to be her husband’s first wife—a paper wife. Set in early 1920's, California, Mei Ling is forced to protect her fragile marriage and her children by making decisions that will have a life long effect.

Easy read, good historical fiction story that would be appropriate for younger teens.

3☆

This book is exactly what comes fo mind when historical fiction is mentioned. The time, place, and circumstances engage the mind while the characters and the challenges they face navigating that landscape capture the heart.

There is quite a bit of cultural/historical content, but the book still flows smoothly and rather quickly. I read way past my bedtime night after night because I was so engrossed in Mei Ling’s story. This was my first Laila Ibrahim book, but I seriously doubt it will be my last.

Thanks to Lake Union publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book interested me right from the first page. The book was well researched and the author did an excellent job of capturing the voice of Mei Ling. I was surprised to find that this wasn't written by a Chinese author. I think anyone who loves Lisa See books would really enjoy this.

Laila Ibrahim is a wonderful author. The Paper Wife is a gripping novel about Chinese immigration in the 1920's. There is so much history woven throughout and in depth love for the characters she has written. This book has famine, war, disease, arranged marriage, courage, and love.. I would recommend this book for everyone.

Five stars all the way.

Eighteen year old Mei Ling and her sister Jah Jeh are living in a village with their family. It is 1923 and times are hard as China rebounds from famine, war and disease. A matchmaker has been employed and a husband has been found for Jah Jeh who is destined to travel to California with her merchant husband and his orphaned son Bo. Unfortunately she is stricken with a fever and Mei Ling must take her place as the matchmaker will not refund her fee. Such is the desperation of the family that they may never see their daughter again and she may provide much needed help from her new position.

Mei Ling travels to Hong Kong with Kai Li and from there by boat to San Francisco. Mei Ling has assumed the identity of her sister to deceive Kai Li. On his part he explains to her that she must now assume the identity of his deceased wife to enable her to gain entry to the United States. She has become a ‘paper wife’ which necessitates her learning the correct answers to the questions that immigration will ask of her.

This is a book about deceit, different cultures and the history of Chinese immigration to the USA. I loved it. I did not know the custom of ‘paper wives (husbands, children, etc.)’; I was aware of the racism that immigrants faced in the USA and the exploitation of those less fortunate – even by their own race, let alone the ‘white’ people. It is so beautifully written, almost lyrical and the characters – oh! Poor Mei Ling, stripped of her identity, trying to conform and be a good wife and mother; hiding her own ‘dragon’ nature under the guise of a rabbit personality. Who could she trust – her husband? He had already deceived her pretending to be a merchant when in fact he was a servant. She did not even have the luxury of confiding to her family as she did not want to worry them. What a winner Kai Li was – what a beautiful family. What a beautiful, beautiful book. It is fabulous. Read it and see.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

This is another book I would give more stars to if I could. I absolutely loved Mei Ling and Kai Li and the family they created. The lengths they both went to to protect an orphan and to keep their family safe and whole were incredible.

I have read a handful of novels that focused on Chinese immigrants during the early-mid 1900s. Only a couple of those mentioned 'paper relatives' and Angel Island. This novel was by far the most thorough in discussing both in-depth, and the author did it in such a way that I didn't feel like it was just filler-she wove the information into the story.

Immigration is certainly a timely topic in the United States at the moment. This book was a peek into immigration from the perspective of a Chinese woman in the 1920s, during another time of immigration law changes. It's less about the political influences and more about the story of a woman learning how to live in her given situation and with her inner dragon.

Things I appreciated about this book are the author's prose, the respect for marriage (even in a situation that today's modern woman wouldn't idealize), the love for children, and the perspective of an immigrant who pushes through hardship. I was so delighted by the character of the husband; what a good man. And the main character (who has to juggle several identities, part of the intrigue) was easy to like and follow.

The beginning of the story grabbed me immediately. That was a great pleasure! At times, there was a lot of repetition in the story line and conversation. Parts could have moved faster, or focused more on character development during those slower times. Overall, I feel as if I learned from a solid slice of life of an immigrant Chinese woman from this era. It's clear a lot of research went into this without overwhelming the story too much. I will definitely read another from this author!

NetGalley and the publisher granted me this as a free eBook before publication in exchange for a fair review.

Writing: 3/5 Characters: 4.5/5 Plot: 4/5

A gripping, and ultimately uplifting, tale highlighting a piece of American immigrant history. The date is 1923 and Mei Ling is an 18-year old girl in Guangdong Province whose family fortune has suffered “the triple devastation of war, famine, and disease.” With little warning, she finds herself a “paper wife” — married to a stranger (and mother to a two-year old named Bo) under the false name of his recently deceased wife in order to enter America. Her true identity is buried under a second layer — her elder sister was the intended bride, but a last minute illness forced the substitution. Mei Ling must keep this quiet as her husband is expecting a timid Rabbit wife and is instead receiving a fierce Dragon.

The story follows Mei Ling through her wedding, the trip in steerage to San Francisco, her new family, including a six-year old orphan named Siew whom she meets on the boat, and immigration through Angel Island. Beautiful and detailed descriptions of San Francisco and Oakland Chinatowns, the people she meets, the lives they lead, and the way different people try to succeed in the new country. I love that each of the characters (even the unpleasant ones) has real depth — the author did not resort to stereotypes in this fictionalized account of a Chinese immigrant experience. The story takes some surprising turns as Mei Ling the Dragon takes steps to maintain harmony and protect her family.

As a way of setting the context, the book’s epigraph comprises a single disturbing quote from then President Rutherford B. Hayes: “I am satisfied the present Chinese labor invasion (it is not in any proper sense immigration — women and children do not come) is pernicious and should be discouraged. Our experience in dealing with the weaker races — the negroes and the Indians, for example — is not encouraging.” Ugh.