I wish I could give 4 1/2 ⭐️s. Much more than a historical novel, Zhang gives us a powerful telling with spiritual and mystical elements. A young girl is stranded and abandoned in a Chinese city after her parents are taken away as political prisoners, she assumes her life as a boy and a beggar, starts to learn from a calligraphy master but is kidnapped and shipped to San Francisco in a coal barrel. She is held captive in a brothel but escapes to Idaho and resumes living as a boy. So many adventures to end in tragedy. I would give 5 🌟s, but I really loved the thread connecting experience to calligraphy and wanted it to be more fully utilized.

Quick Take: Dai Yu is a young girl growing up in 1800’s China. After catastrophe falls upon her family, she begins a perilous journey across the sea to San Francisco.

I’m not sure how to rate and review this book. Let me start by saying that this book is NOT for the faint of heart. There are many trigger warnings that you should consider including sex trafficking, sexual assault, hate crimes, racism, and torture. This book was beautifully written and if it weren’t so dark, I would have given it 5 stars.

Dad Yu is a young girl living in a small village in China in the late 1800’s. Her idyllic childhood comes to a halt when her parents disappear, and she later finds out they were arrested. Fearing for Dai Yu, her grandmother sends her to survive by herself in the larger city nearby. After being kidnapped, she is sex trafficked to San Francisco. This begins a chain of events that I can only describe as increasingly terrible and horrific. Dai Yu’s life goes from bad to worse back to bad and then back to way worse. It was not a pleasant read.

What I loved about the story was its historical realism. This book was clearly well researched and written in beautiful prose. I also loved how Chinese characters were described using the parts of the characters and their meanings.

Unfortunately, this book was so dark I could not LOVE it. What happened to the heroine, Dai Yu, was terrible from beginning to end. There didn’t seem to be ANY redemptive arc for the character.

I can recommend this book to anyone interested in this historical period and specifically the plight of Asian Americans.

DNF @ 40%.

After listening to several hours of this audiobook, I know I'm not connecting with the story and am probably the wrong audience for it. The first person present tense perspective, along with the juvenile narration makes it sound too much like YA to me, rather than literary fiction as I was expecting. I found myself spacing off during entire sections with no desire to go back and see what I missed. At the 40% mark when the main character, an adolescent, is sexually assaulted, I realized I wasn't enjoying anything about this listening experience.

I hate to DNF books, but this just isn't for me. I won't be posting these thoughts on my blog or Goodreads, since it seems I'm in the minority with my experience.

Set in late 1800s China and the USA, Four Treasures In The Sky follows the tragic story of Daiyu through countless hardships. Her story starts shortly after the is orphaned in China and follows her through life later as she navigates the Chinese Exclusion Act in the states. It is not an easy story, filled mostly with heartbreak and violence, but it is at the same time something you can’t put down.

Daiyu makes for a compelling character. Through every stage of her life, she’s observant, thoughtful, and always striving for more. You can’t help but root for her. As she grows, you grow with her.

I will say that this book may not be for everyone as it is very dark, depressing and violent. I would highly recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading.

As for the narrator of the audiobook, I thought she was very good. Pacing was nice and I really enjoyed what she brought to the Sorry.

Thank you to NetGallery and Macmillan Audio for the audio book.

Jenny Tinghui Zhang shares a beautiful and devastating story in her novel, Four Treasures of the Sky. The story follows the journey of Lin Daiyu from a seemingly innocent childhood in rural China through the trials that lead her to an often brutal life in the United States. A true survivor, Daiyu lives a life that is heartbreaking to read. At least four different times we see Daiyu shed her identity and step into a new life and into new power in order to overcome excruciating circumstances. Lessons learned from the Chinese calligraphy teacher who took Daiyu in as an adolescent help her keep a steady hand and head as she navigates life as a Chinese immigrant in the United States at a time in American history when anti-Chinese sentiment was a way of life. Another lifeline was the link between Daiyu and the ancient heroine from Chinese folklore for whom she was named. I absolutely loved this relationship between Daiyu and her namesake; the way these two characters' stories wove together to create a tapestry of strength and was breath-taking--a beautiful exploration of one's personal relationship with culture, ancestral history, and trauma.

Though Daiyu's story unfolds during the late 1800s when the Chinese Exclusion Act became a law prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers, it is especially poignant to read at the time of publication when anti-Chinese sentiment has been expressed verbally by political leaders and expressed violently by American citizens during the global pandemic.

Jenny Tinghui Zhang's writing style is lyrical. Though I very much enjoyed the audio version, this is one I'd like to go back and read. I often wanted to pause the story and write down what I heard in order to savor the language.

I am in complete awe of this beautifully written debut novel set both in China and America during the late 1800s at the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Before reading this book, I did not not know much about the Chinese Exclusion Act and the horrible discriminations and atrocities the Chinese immigrants faced during this time in America.

The story is told from the POV of Daiyu, a young Chinese girl who is kidnapped and smuggled to America, where the Chinese are not really welcomed at that time. During her stay in America, she meets many people along the way, some good and some very bad.

Daiyu realizes that she must change and reinvent herself in order to survive. She wonders if she will ever make it back to China and see her family again or will she meet her final fate in America like so many other Chinese during the Chinese Exclusion Act?

Reading the reviews for this book, I noticed readers had mixed feelings about the ending, but I honestly can't see this book ending any other way.

This novel will stick with me for a long time. It is truly an emotional page-turner, and I will recommend it to my friends who are looking for a well-written historical fiction to add to their TBR. The narration for the audio version is superb, and really enhances the overall experience of this book.

Special thanks to the author, Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh hello emotional destruction my old friend, it’s so nice to see you again. Raise your hand if your favorite books are ones that annihilate you emotionally. Books that teach you about history, injustice, other cultures, and your own heart. Books that examine humanity, make you gasp at it’s beauty, then weep over its cruelty.

This breathtaking historical fiction is a layer cake of hope and beauty that will make your heart swell, and cruel depravities that will make it break.

It begins in China in the 1880s. Daiyu’s parents are taken when she is 12, and her grandmother tells her she must flee their home to stay safe.

She finds a job at a calligraphy school where she learns from Master Wang. He says calligraphy, “is the monumental task of creating unity between the person you are and the person you could be.”* This section speaks to following your heart and finding yourself.

Daiyu is then kidnapped and taken to California, where she is sold to a brothel. She later disguises herself as a man and begins work at a general store in Idaho, where she comes face to face with extreme anti-Chinese racism and violence against the backdrop of the Page and Chinese Exclusion Acts.

During her darkest moments, she has her calligraphy character formation, memories of love from her family, and teachings of her calligraphy teacher to turn to, flickers of light in a long dark tunnel. Daiyu reclaims her fabled name and finds herself by the end of the story.

This is a raw character driven story with beautiful lyrical prose. Katharine Chin did a phenomenal job with the narration. Don’t miss the author note and interview where Zhang discusses the true events that inspired the story, and links her story to the recent surge in Anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

TW: sexual assault, kidnapping, grief, racism, sex slavery, murder, assault

(*Quotes are approximations from an ARC.)

Four Treasures of the Sky - Jenny Tinghui Zhang
5/5⭐️

“In calligraphy, as in life, we do not retouch strokes...We must accept that what is done, is done.”*

This one will stay with me for a long time. Daiyu's devastating story of adapting, fighting and surviving through the many hardships that kept coming her way had my heart aching. Despite this she not only persists but also is learning more of her identity along the way. The writing was absolutely gorgeous and clear as rain. Amazing that this was Zhang's debut novel!

The content of the book is very unsettling and heartbreaking. The backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the resulting aggressions towards Chinese people along with the outright violence of men against women was difficult to hear. But, I find value in learning of US's xenophobic past. Hopefully it could be of aid to our future; especially in today's political climate. Just look for the content warnings and be in the mindset for your heart to be broken. 

 Also, I love that the story gave us such a resilient, vulnerable and lovable character in Daiyu. She had such an interesting voice and story to tell. Following her through four different journeys and watching her grow, adapt, learn and become her true self was truly inspiring. 

The only hang-ups were there were a few spots that seemed to lull and I needed some more time to process the ending... though I don't know if an alternative ending would have been authentic.  If you have read it, send me a DM so we can chat about it! 

If you choose to listen to the audiobook don't skip the interview with the author at the end. It is very insightful!

Thank you to @netgalley, @flatiron_books and @sunspotletters the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy! All opinions are my own.

A relentlessly harrowing historical fiction tour through one person's experience of kidnapping and the Chinese Exclusion Act. It is difficult to get through this--I can't pretend its not.

It’s 1885 in America, the hate filled Chinese Exclusion Act has just passed and hate and racism is rampant! This book! tells the story of a young Chinese girl who is kidnapped and whisked away, in horrendous conditions, to San Francisco and forced to work in a brothel. As the story evolved to its shocking sad ending, I kept saying “Oh, no, oh no, oh no!” No spoilers here!
Jenny Tinghui Zhang has written a novel of immense emotion and artistry, showcasing her rich talents as an Author. What a story. I loved that it began with her dad seeing a plaque in Idaho. Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Publishing for the epub. This book is incredible!!!!

The fact that there are no trigger warnings, or any warning about the content is inexcusable. Had I known, I never would have requested the book, nor put myself through the exercise of listening.
Despite that . I really tried, but this is the first book in almost 10 years that is a DNF for me.
I live in China, and love learning about Chinese culture and history, so I was very excited when I saw the book and was granted the right to listen and review it. A strong Chinese female protagonist who overcomes hardships. Yes, please.
I loved the beginning, and despite the narrator’s warning about the kidnapping, I is figured it would be an obstacle for our heroine to overcome. After reading the introductory blurb, I figured that the kidnapping would happen and we’d move on.
The subject matter was just too intense for me and nothing I would ever select. The treatment this child endured was just too much. I really tried hoping that there was going to be a redemption, but after a couple of hours., i realized I just couldn’t keep listening.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of this book.
Wow. What a story. I honestly couldn't stop listening to it once I started.
Daiyu and all her other names will definitely stay with me for a while. It's a bit of a hard story to listen, due to the topics in it (TW: sexual assault, racism). There is so much hope and will to survive, so much hardship endured and so much heartbreak. I learned so much about the Chinese Exclusion Act and it's repercussions through Daiyu's story. I also loved the interview with the author in the end.
The narrator also did an excellent job.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Macmillan Audio for the preview copy of this audio book.

I wasn't sure what to expect, not knowing the author. At first, I thought it was going to focus more on human trafficking, but as it progressed and the main character transformed over and over again- it was clear that this was not about misogyny, but clearly showed anti-Chinese discrimination in the US. Unfortunately, this did not end in the 1880s, but is still alive and growing today.

As a novel, the storyline carries one along, with this multi-faceted main character. However, it is so much more effective as a history lesson, as it is based on a real hanging of 5 Chinese men in Idaho.

Highly recommended.

Jenny Tinghui Zhang’s vivid settings and descriptive writing work to immerse readers into this tale of Chinese folklore & untold history and Katharine Chin’s audiobook narration only helps to further engage readers with Daiyu’s story.

However, even though the author’s inspiration for the story lies within the unfolding action in Idaho, I was more interested in Daiyu’s story before she arrives in Pierce. I struggled with the pace and was often bored throughout this last section of the novel. Although I understand and respect the significance of ending, I was disappointed that we never got to move on from Pierce.

There is much to learn and discuss within the pages of Four Treasures of the Sky, particularly for readers and book clubs interested in examining racism, white supremacy, and violence against marginalized communities. Suggested for fans of Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes.

Beautifully written story of a young girl who is kidnapped and sent to an American brothel. It is set against the background of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a review!

Four Treasures of the Sky is harrowing. It follows the story of Lin Daiyu, a young girl born in a fishing village outside of Zhifu, China, who is kidnapped and brought to America in the 1880s. There, she is forced to work in a brothel in San Francisco. She later escapes to Idaho where she pretends to be a boy and finds work in a shop. However, anti-asian racism follows her throughout her time in America, and with the Chinese Exclusion Act (passed in 1882), even more violence and hatred comes up.

What I really liked about this book was the theme of identity. Throughout the novel, Lin Daiyu has to assume different names and a different gender just to survive. All the while, her original name, a name derived from a traditional story where her namesake is portrayed as weak and suffering, follows her wherever she goes. While she initially hates her original name because of its connotations with weakness and suffering, she comes to appreciate and embrace it by the end, knowing that she did all she could to survive in a place that hated her.

This book also taught me a lot about American history, specifically anti-asian racism in the late 19th century. This is something I had never learnt about before and even though I am not American, my history classes did cover some of American history and this never came up. I'm not surprised but I am saddened by it nonetheless, especially as anti-asian sentiment is still very much prevalent, not only in America, but elsewhere as well. This is a part of history that must never be forgotten. I think this book would be a great way to educate others about this history (but obviously not the sole way). The fact that history classes neglect this must also be addressed.

Overall, Four Treasures of the Sky is an amazing novel. It brought me on a range of emotions, such as fear, anger, sadness, anxiety, and more. The epilogue especially stands out to me and makes my heart break. I highly recommend this as a necessary read, though there is much heavy content so please take care of yourself first. (TW: violence, racism, sexual assault).

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy of Four Treasures of the Sky. This title drops on April 5th and if you enjoy historical fiction and a lens thrown on rarely-spotlighted history, it is for you.

This is a book that hits hard in the emotions and doesn’t stop hitting. It holds up a mirror to the average white American and says “did your history class cover this?” and no, my classes certainly did not. This book hurt to read, but it hurts more to know that mainstream American education just omits so much of our worst doings. It is relentlessly grim, readers should know, but I don’t think that’s a reason to knock significant stars off your review, as I’ve seen others do.

Lin Daiyu is a girl named after a tragic romance heroine in perhaps a significant foreshadowing of Daiyu’s own fate. When she is suddenly left to fend for herself, without family or connections, she dresses as a boy and makes her way to a calligraphy school to find shelter and a living. There her worldview and frame of reference are shaped by the eloquent lessons calligraphy teach her. The different radicals that go into a Chinese character, every stroke coalescing into a beautiful little almost-poem, inform Daiyu’s narration as she struggles to make sense of the cruel world around her. I enjoyed how much calligraphy would come up later, how it is a consistent line through the plot.

I listened to the audio format as mentioned, and Katharine Chin is a beautiful narrator. She does justice to the Chinese in the book while making the story more than the sum of its parts, the trademark of whether or not a book serves well as an audiobook for me. You feel painful passages, you’re touched at the inspiring ones. I ended the book crying at work, so, good job to Katharine.

The book is realistic and gritty, following Lin Daiyu through being trafficked to the United States, forced to work in a brothel, and her subsequent escape and struggle to survive, to try to make it back to China. Her personal struggles are shadowed by sexual violence and the ongoing threat of sexual assault for much of the book, as well as the specter of the Chinese exclusion act and increasing anti-Chinese sentiment and violence. The book feels so eerily timely to publish when and where we are now in America. History often feels like a wheel, and the worst kind of wheel.

I will say that enjoyment of a book should play into a rating, not just the craft, research and content. For that I will mark this overall four stars, because it is very sad, and there is minimal emotional payoff for any optimistic readers. But it is also inspiring and educational, the research and emotional investment I was coerced into are very effective and the book deserves high marks. The author’s note is well worth listening to or reading, by the way.

📖 This is such a beautiful and heartbreaking story. The main character, Daiyu, is a young girl who is met with hardship at every turn throughout her life. In the late 1800s, Daiyu find herself forced from her family, trafficked to the United States, and forced to work as a prostitute. The story centers on Daiyu’s determination to break free from a horrific life and reunite with her family back in China. With many points of the story based on actual historical events, it's an elegantly crafted look at the brutality many Chinese immigrants faced in the US during this time.

🎧 Katharine Chin narrates the audiobook and does so masterfully. She absolutely embodies the voices of Daiyu. She is also able to perfectly capture the polish and grit of Zhang’s words. It was truly a captivating listening experience.

The audiobook also includes an interview with Zhang in which she provides some insight into the background of the story. This bit of insight really showcases not only the importance of the story but also Zhang’s talent and creativity. I cannot wait to read more from her.

Four Treasures of the Sky was a beautiful and heartbreaking work of historical fiction. Tragedy befalls the main character, Daiyu, every step of the way, but her will to live is extraordinary. Kidnapped from China and brought to the American west to become a prostitute, Daiyu fights tooth and nail to get away and get back home, sometimes living as a boy for safety. Many points in the story are based on actual events in the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a history that isn’t heard about often. I really appreciated the author’s note at the end about this incredibly racist time in history that still spiders it’s way into our present. Beautifully narrated audiobook. 4.5 stars

This is a powerful, enlightening, thoughtful, beautifully written -- and devastating story. The audio version was worth the time, with an extraordinarily talented narrator, Katharine Chin. Audio is particularly valuable when as here, the writing is exquisite. But, since I have no writing to reference, I may get some details wrong. Sometime in the late 1860s or so, Daiyu is raised in China by loving parents and her grandmother-- first in a city, where her mother designs and weaves extraordinary tapestries and then in a small town, where her grandmother can garden and they have a larger house. She is named for a tragic heroine of an old story involving a woman who is sickly and dies when her lover is tricked into marrying a healthier person. Our Daiyu is convinced that her life is preordained to be tragic as well. They live a stable and pleasant life until there is a turn of events that forces Daiyu to strike out on her own at age twelve.

A NOTE ABOUT THIS REVIEW: It does not contain spoilers, in the sense that I stuck to what people can learn from the publisher's description with some details added that are also not spoilers. I think it's safe to read on unless you don't want to learn anything about the story and the writing.

This is a novel full of twists and turns, moments of stability and periods of great danger. At times, Daiyu must disguise herself as a boy, moving in unfamiliar circles and of necessity coming to understand how men, good or evil, perceive women and the different roles of gender. It is a deeply moving coming of age story. One theme in the book comes from a period of time when Daiyu has the chance to learn to write and learn about calligraphy. The master is as much philosopher as teacher and gives Daiyu ways to understand her challenges and to accept and live her life. Zhang weaves this experience through the story, describing what characters are used to make a name, a word and what the parts that make the sum mean about a word. In every iteration of her life, Daiyu uses her finger to write characters on her thigh and thinks about the language of her birth, eventually comparing the strangeness of English and its twenty-six letters to her beloved Chinese characters.

Because Daiyu is kidnapped and shipped to California where she is sold to a brothel. The act of kidnapping, being held prisoner, being smuggled across the sea and landing in a brothel before she has yet menstruated is powerfully written so that we experience what she experiences physically. The reader is mesmerized by her external and internal processing when at times is necessarily dissociative, involves an internal muse that Daiyu can see, it is so real and involves pain, a desire not to survive, a desire to go on. Eventually, Daiyu makes her way to Idaho in yet another strange turn of events, where she ultimately settles into work at a general store owned by a pair of Chinese men, who don't ask a lot of questions of the boy they have hired for room and board and a small amount of money. It is in her time in Idaho that Daiyu becomes increasingly aware of the danger of being Chinese in the United States. For some years there have been incidents of mass violence against Chinese immigrants, who are viewed as stealing white men's jobs. By the time she gets to Idaho, the mines that attracted Chinese workers are tapped out and many have moved on. The few Chinese residents of her town experience ongoing micro-aggression and more serious harassment. The store is targeted because it competes with a white owned store.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 is passed while Daiyu is in Idaho and the radically anti-Chinese white population is further emboldened. Zhang does an amazing job of educating us, while engaging us at every moment, through discussions among several Chinese characters with varying degrees of sophistication about the current climate, activists taking risks to fight for Chinese rights and the violence/harassment they learn about in the newspapers and experience in their town. Zhang draws the array of characters with complexity, humanity, villainy, dreams, naivety and cynicism. Daiyu finds strength, self-awareness, trust in at least a few people and as she matures, she is always thinking about and acting toward a way forward in the face of heartbreaking challenges.

And every single bit of this novel is believable because the research is sound and the people compelling. Daiyu's muse is a lovely addition and I won't spoil that for you but I love this inner voice and its manifestation. There was a revealing interview with Zhang at the end of the audiobook that was quite enjoyable. She did not know much of this history until her senior year of college and then learned much much more through the research for this book. The story is inspired by her father's visit to a town in Idaho where a historical marker touches on an event in its past involving some Chinese locals and a murder. Everything that happens to every character makes sense and happens for a reason. But over and over again, things that are hard to bear happen. I want everyone to read this, or even better to listen to it, but it is definitely not for those who cannot endure pain along with the beauty.