20 Powerful First Lines To Get You Hooked On A Story

openinglines_snippet_v2.jpg

Children's reading lists

18 powerful first lines to get you hooked on a story

The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots

New 25th Anniversary Edition 
__________ 
 
'I am still haunted by Mah's memoir . . . Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure' Amy Tan, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club 
 
1940s, Shanghai. As the civil war rages on and China falls under communist rule, young Adeline lives in constant fear. Not of the war, but of her family: blamed for the death of her mother, she is rejected by her father and abused by her cruel stepmother. 
 
With the help of her aunt, Adeline escapes to the United States where she finds love, happiness and success. But will that be enough to quell a lifelong yearning for acceptance, or will she return to the family that rejected her years ago 
 
Falling Leaves Return to their Roots is both the enthralling story of a Chinese family in a time of political upheaval, and a moving account of one girl's unrelenting will to survive. 
__________ 
 
'Falling Leaves is a terrible and riveting family history . . . It is also a story about endurance and the cost it can exact. Gripping' Daily Telegraph 
 
'An illuminating account of the destructive nature of family relationships set against a backdrop of China in change' Mail on Sunday 
 
'An act, not of vengeance or bitterness, but of catharsis' Sunday Telegraph

Charged with emotion . . . a vivid portrait of the human capacity for meanness, malice - and love'

Falling Leaves is a terrible and riveting family history . . . It is also a story about endurance and the cost it can exact . . . gripping'

An illuminating account of the destructive nature of family relationships set against a backdrop of China in change

A light burns in the book that is never extinguished . . . [it is] an act, not of vengeance or bitterness, but of catharsis

The pain of so much emotional abuse leaps from every page . . . the most amazing aspect of this story is that Adeline managed to survive . . . and emerge triumphant . . . compelling'

I am still haunted by Mah's memoir . . . Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure

The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter 
 
The story of an unwanted daughter growing up during the Chinese Communist Revolution, blamed for her mother's death, ignored by her millionaire father and unwanted by her Eurasian step mother. A story of greed, hatred and jealousy; a domestic drama is played against the extraordinary political events in China and Hong Kong. 
 
Written with the emotional force of a novel but with a vividness drawn from a personal and political background, Falling Leaves has been an enduring bestseller all over the world.

Chinese Cinderella: The Mystery of the Song Dynasty Painting

Following a fall in the Shanghai market, Chinese Cinderella is whisked away to Grandma Wu's house to recover. As she lapses in and out of consciousness, she is haunted by vivid dreams that seem strange - yet somehow familiar - to her. A tale of slavery and friendship, wealth, poverty and an arranged marriage begins, as Chinese Cinderella recalls a life lived centuries before. 
 
But is it real, or all in her imagination . . .

Adeline Yen Mah lives in California after growing up in Tianjin and Shanghai in China, Hong Kong and England. She studied medicine but gave up her career as a physician to become a full-time writer. After the death of her stepmother, she felt compelled to write her story and the result, Falling Leaves, became an international bestseller. Adeline later adapted it for children under the title Chinese Cinderella. She has written several other books for adults and children including Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society, an adventure based on her own made-up stories when she was a lonely child.

By the Author of Chinese Cinderella

Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society

A phenomenal success, Chinese Cinderella has sold over 300,000 copies.

Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, but grew up in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London. She attended medical school in London and Edinburgh and emigrated to California where she became chief of anaethesia at the hospital where she worked, as well as medical director a surgical clinic. 
After the publication of FALLING LEAVES which has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide, Adeline gave up medicine to write full time. 
She is happily married with two children and lives in California and London.

During her lonely childhood in Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah wrote adventure stories to escape from her terrible step-mother and cruel siblings. The characters she created often became more real to her than her own family. In Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society, Adeline tells the story of Chinese Cinderella, a young girl who, after being thrown out of her home, has no choice but to go out and seek her own destiny. Soon she meets up with a group of children, all orphaned but each from a different background, who live with an old lady called Grandma Wu. Chinese Cinderella, or CC for short, decides her future after consulting an ancient book which helps to show her the way forward. And her choice takes her on a mission to save the lives of others. Based on a true-life incident during World War II. CC and the others bravely rescue a group of American pilots whose plane crashed after a bombing raid on Japan. Although her father is looking for her, CC knows that she can never go back to live with her cruel stepmother, and now there is no turning back.

Adeline Yen Mah

The author recreates moments of cruelty and victory so convincingly that readers will feel almost as if they're in the same room with her.

Puffin Clothbound Classics are stunning collectable hardback editions of some of the best-loved classics in the world - including this very special 25th anniversary edition of Chinese Cinderella. 
 
Born into the world with her story already written and woven with bad luck, Adeline turns her attention to school, where she discovers that she is a talented writer, much to Father's disapproval. 
 
'Writer! You are going to starve!' 
 
But with a pen in her hand, she can't help but wonder what it would be like to be a writer - no, an author! It won't be easy, but Adeline must have the courage to rewrite her story...

Chinese Cinderella

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

sectionTitle

isEnabled

anchor

anchorLabel

prhuk/featured-book

prhuk/praise-section

maxBooks

showViewMore

prhuk/books-section

hideAuthorAlert

formName

iterableDivision

iterableBrand

buttonText

description

heading

legalText

successHeading

successText

image

alignment

variation

prhuk/email-section

prhuk/series-section

prhuk/biography-section

prhuk/articles-section

prhuk-authors

Join our newsletter for 10% off at the Penguin Shop

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

Adeline Yen Mah

Praise for Chinese Cinderella

The author recreates moments of cruelty and victory so convincingly that readers will feel almost as if they're in the same room with her.

The author recreates moments of cruelty and victory so convincingly that readers will feel almost as if they're in the same room with her.

Books by Adeline Yen Mah

Series by Adeline Yen Mah

Chinese Cinderella

Articles featuring Adeline Yen Mah

18 powerful first lines to get you hooked on a story

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter