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To save her family, one girl will sacrifice her very identity. Living in poverty in the shadow of the Forbidden City, Daiyu never imagined that the life of the emperor would impact her own. But a chance meeting with a girl who looks exactly like her changes everything. Daiyu’s family is offered enough money to Read More

This post contains SPOILERS for the Disney live-action version of Mulan. Don’t scroll past Mushu if you don’t want to be spoiled. In 1978, Edward Said wrote the book on Orientalism, which is the racist, simplistic, and inaccurate view of Eastern cultures in the West, especially in Western pop culture.  My go-to example of Orientalism Read More

I recently did an interview with Laila Ibrahim, the author of Paper Wife, and she was kind enough to send me a copy of her novel to review. Be sure to check out her interview here! About the novel: Southern China, 1923. Desperate to secure her future, Mei Ling’s parents arrange a marriage to a Read More

Crazy Rich Asians, starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, finally opened here in China on Friday, so my husband I saw it for our weekly date night. We loved it! It was so sweet and funny. I haven’t read the book by Kevin Kwan, but I really want to now. I wasn’t sure how much Read More

As soon as I read the description for Paper Wife, I knew it was exactly the kind of book I would love to read. It isn’t going to be released until the end of October, but author Laila Ibrahim was kind enough to do an author interview with me now. Read what she had to say Read More

A little over a year ago, I was teaching a writing class for an alternative healthcare university and one of my students wrote a paper about ASMR. I didn’t really understand what she was talking about and I had never heard of it before, so I did a quick YouTube search – and I was Read More

Working from home is great. I roll out of bed and can get right to work. I don’t have to worry about wearing “work” clothes, doing my makeup, or even brushing my hair. I have access to my tea, my snacks, and my dog. When my daughter comes home from school, I’m here for a Read More

I usually look forward to the 4th of July, but I don’t think America deserves to be celebrated right now. And while there is plenty to criticize China about, there is a lot to love about this country too. So here is a list of 100 things I love about China – in no particular Read More