Happy Family

March 3, 2008
Lee's debut novel is the heartfelt story of Hua Wu, a young Chinese immigrant who comes to New York City and serendipitously becomes a nanny to an adopted Chinese girl, Lily Templeton-Walker, after meeting her American mother, Jane, in the park. Hua becomes attached to the child and involved in the family, but is disturbed when she uncovers trouble in Jane's marriage. She begins to snoop around her employers' apartment hoping to discover the reason behind the turmoil; the more she finds the more she fears what will happen if Lily's parents separate. This drama takes second stage when Hua meets Evan, the man with whom she wrongly assumed Jane was having an affair. Hua and Evan have an odd one-night stand, during which the author flashes back to Hua's sexual encounter with a teacher in China. Hua's memory of Teacher Zhang leads to a revelation about her past, which prompts Hua to attempt to protect Lily from the pain of her parents' conflict—a rare instance in which Hua takes action. Unfortunately, Lee's impassioned storytelling is unable to make up for prose that is at times overwritten and melodramatic. The passive and often stereotypical characters make this portrait of a Chinese immigrant feel simplistic and uninspired.

April 1, 2008
"Happy family" is not just the name of a dish on a Chinese menuit also refers ironically to the relationships that Hua Wu discovers in her new home, New York City. Originally from Fuzhou, China, Hua Wu spends most of her time missing her homeland and her grandmother before connecting in a West Village park with Jane Templeton and her daughter, Lily, who was adopted from China. Soon, the young Chinese woman leaves her restaurant job to nanny for Jane and Richard, Jane's husband. A strong bond quickly grows between Hua Wu and Lily; when the familial facade finally fractures, Hua Wu takes the steps that she believes are necessary to protect Lily. First novelist Lee's craftsmanship is evident in sparse but expressive prose. She carefully and insightfully handles the contentious issue of the adoption of Chinese children. Aside from characters who are flat in comparison with Hua Wu, this debut delivers on the promise of Lee's interesting premise. Recommended for large fiction collections.Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2008
Lees accomplished debut limns Chinese immigrant Hua Wus experiences in New York City. At the urging of her grandmother, who wants a better life for her, Hua leaves the city of Fuzhou for America. Once she arrives in New York, she finds employment in a restaurant in Chinatown working alongside fellow immigrants. Huas life is a lonely one until the day she meets Jane Templeton and her adopted Chinese daughter, Lily, at a park. Intrigued by the fortysomething career woman and her daughter, Hua grows closer to them until Jane asks her to babysit Lily and eventually to be her nanny. Even as Hua becomes a daily fixture in the lives of Lily and her family, she remains an outsider, an observer of this not-quite-happy family. Rich and multilayered, Lees novel explores what it means to be a part of something, whether its a family or a culture. Told in Huas sparse, somber voice, the story grabs readers from the start and doesnt let go until the final page. A truly memorable first outing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)