A River of Stars

May 7, 2018
In her skillful debut novel, Hua (Deceit and Other Possibilities: Stories), a San Francisco Chronicle columnist, introduces a strong heroine: fiercely independent Scarlett Chen. Scarlett, a factory clerk, fought her way to prosperity from the poverty of her native Chinese village and the clutches of her controlling mother. But when an affair with her married boss results in a pregnancy—and the ultrasound reveals the son he’s always longed for—Boss Yeung sends Scarlett to Los Angeles to be cared for in a secret maternity home. Run by another clever woman, Mama Fang, the home caters to wealthy Chinese couples hoping to secure U.S. citizenship for their soon-to-be born children. It’s there that Boss Yeung’s true intentions (and his own considerable self-interest) are revealed. When Scarlett learns that the ultrasound was incorrect and she’s in fact carrying a girl, she knows she must leave the home to save herself. Along with another young pregnant woman, she breaks free to scratch out an existence on the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown—a setup that is heartbreaking and, at turns, hilarious, as the two must remain undetected while they make their way across California. Hua wonderfully evokes the exigencies of lives at the margins of American culture by revealing Scarlett’s enduring ingenuity as she navigates near-destitute single motherhood.

June 1, 2018
A pregnant Chinese woman goes on the run in America to escape her controlling ex.Scarlett never imagined she would find herself somewhere like Perfume Bay, a posh private accommodation for expectant Chinese mothers in Los Angeles. But when she gets pregnant with her boss's baby, and that baby turns out to be a boy, everything in her life changes in an instant. Boss Yeung will take no risks with the son he's always dreamed of...even if that son is illegitimate. Scarlett, who is used to working in factories and fending for herself, is not prepared for life among the pampered women at Perfume Bay who have come to America to secure citizenship for their children. When she finds out that Boss Yeung wants to pay her to give her baby up to his legitimate family, she finally decides to take her life back into her own hands and escape the claustrophobic Perfume Bay. But she doesn't anticipate being accompanied by Daisy, a spunky and occasionally obnoxious teenager whose parents sent her away when she got pregnant with her beloved boyfriend's baby. The two women escape north to San Francisco's Chinatown neighborhood, where they scrounge together food and money for themselves and their newborns--all while Boss Yeung gets closer and closer to tracking Scarlett down. This debut novel from Hua, who has previously published a collection of short stories (Deceit and Other Possibilities, 2016), paints a vivid picture of Scarlett and Daisy's unromantic and occasionally squalid, but nevertheless vibrant, life in Chinatown. Scarlett's fear of being discovered by Boss Yeung never fully dissipates, but it is ultimately overtaken by her fear of being discovered by American authorities who could deport her, and her constant paranoia is palpable. Unfortunately, the novel never fully capitalizes on its strengths. Boss Yeung's narrative is tedious, and Scarlett's lacks momentum. And the novel's saccharine ending undercuts its atmospheric successes.A 21st-century immigrant story that, while intermittently intriguing, falls short of its potential.

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July 1, 2018
In Perfume Bay, a luxurious oasis just outside Los Angeles, pregnant Chinese women are pampered through the U.S. birth of precious progeny who will provide their parents with a foothold in America. Among the guests is factory-manager Scarlett Chen, sent to the U.S. to bear the son of her older, married lover, who's also her employer. As their long-distance relationship stagnates, Scarlett can't risk losing her unborn child to Boss Yeung. She manages to commandeer the residence's van for a late-night escape, then discovers a stowaway: Perfume Bay's youngest and most rebellious resident, Daisy, who still believes she can find her missing boyfriend. The unlikely pair flee to San Francisco's Chinatown, where accepting the kindness of strangers, clever bartering, peddling the Chinese slider, and catering a gay wedding keep them afloat until the inevitable confrontation converges at City Hall. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Hua follows her intriguing short story collection, Deceit and Other Possibilities (2016), with an astute debut novel that confronts identity, privilege, freedom, and a twenty-first-century rendering of the American dream with poignancy, insight, humor, and plenty of savvy charm.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2018

This first novel from award-winning short story author Hua (Deceit and Possibilities) opens in California at Perfume Bay, a center hosting Chinese women for the purpose of birth tourism. The mistress of wealthy, older factory entrepreneur Boss Yeung, single, pregnant 36-year-old Scarlett Chen finds all going well until the facility is raided and she escapes with another patient, 17-year-old Daisy, stowed away in a van. What follows is an intriguing plot filled with twists and turns showing how the two women fare on the run with their limited visas, abetted by luck and ingenuity. Hua's characterization is strong and engaging and her writing highly descriptive, likely the result of her journalistic background. Yet while the story opens with a lot of promise, it becomes progressively less realistic as plotlines and characters wander off in various directions with results more akin to a comical screenplay. VERDICT Overall, an entertaining read best for those who don't mind overly tidy and farfetched fairy tale-like endings. [See Prepub Alert, 2/19/18.]--Shirley Quan, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2018

Pregnant by her boss/lover, who sends her to America to give birth, Chinese factory clerk Scarlett Chen goes on the run from the maternity center with another mother-to-be. From a multi-award-winning author (e.g., the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award) whose debut collection was glowingly reviewed.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.