While American music icon Nola Sands is on a goodwill concert tour in China, a baby is thrust into her arms. Nola's well-orchestrated life is thrown out of orbit as she bonds with the infant and resolves to save her from death in the dumping ground of China's orphanages.

“Enlightening, nuanced, and honest.”—Lisa See Set against the glittering backdrop of Los Angeles during the gin-soaked Jazz Age and the rise of Hollywood, this debut book celebrates Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star, to bring an unsung heroine to light and reclaim her place in cinema history. Before Constance Wu, Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, or Lucy Liu, there was Anna May Wong. In her time, she was a legendary beauty, witty conversationalist, and fashion icon. Plucked from her family’s laundry business in Los Angeles, Anna May Wong rose to stardom in Douglas Fairbanks’s blockbuster The Thief of Bagdad. Fans and the press clamored to see more of this unlikely actress, but when Hollywood repeatedly cast her in stereotypical roles, she headed abroad in protest. Anna May starred in acclaimed films in Berlin, Paris, and London. She dazzled royalty and heads of state across several nations, leaving trails of suitors in her wake. She returned to challenge Hollywood at its own game by speaking out about the industry’s blatant racism. She used her new stature to move away from her typecasting as the China doll or dragon lady, and worked to reshape Asian American representation in film. Filled with stories of capricious directors and admiring costars, glamorous parties and far-flung love affairs, Not Your China Doll showcases the vibrant, radical life of a groundbreaking artist.

It's 1938 and the exclusive Oriental nightclub in San Francisco's Forbidden City is holding auditions for showgirls. In the dark, scandalous glamour of the club, three girls from very different backgrounds stumble into each other lives. All the girls have secrets. Grace, an American-born Chinese girl, has fled the Midwest and an abusive father. Helen is from a Chinese family which has deep roots in San Francisco's Chinatown. And, as both her friends know, Ruby is Japanese passing as Chinese. Then, in a heartbeat, everything changes. The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and paranoia, suspicion, and a shocking act of betrayal, threaten to destroy their lives.

Young Eliza Lou considers some unusual sleeping arrangements after suggesting that her mother buy her a china doll by trading her father's featherbed.

“Enlightening, nuanced, and honest.”—Lisa See Set against the glittering backdrop of Los Angeles during the gin-soaked Jazz Age and the rise of Hollywood, this debut book celebrates Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star, to bring an unsung heroine to light and reclaim her place in cinema history. One of Autostraddle's Most Anticipated Queer Books for Spring 2024 Before Constance Wu, Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, or Lucy Liu, there was Anna May Wong. In her time, she was a legendary beauty, witty conversationalist, and fashion icon. Plucked from her family’s laundry business in Los Angeles, Anna May Wong rose to stardom in Douglas Fairbanks’s blockbuster The Thief of Bagdad. Fans and the press clamored to see more of this unlikely actress, but when Hollywood repeatedly cast her in stereotypical roles, she headed abroad in protest. Anna May starred in acclaimed films in Berlin, Paris, and London. She dazzled royalty and heads of state across several nations, leaving trails of suitors in her wake. She returned to challenge Hollywood at its own game by speaking out about the industry’s blatant racism. She used her new stature to move away from her typecasting as the China doll or dragon lady, and worked to reshape Asian American representation in film. Filled with stories of capricious directors and admiring costars, glamorous parties and far-flung love affairs, Not Your China Doll showcases the vibrant, radical life of a groundbreaking artist.

Sports reporter Michelle Yu and lawyer Blossom Kan introduce a vibrant, irresistible novel set in New York City. Based on personal experience, China Dolls is the story of three best friends from childhood--each an unforgettable Asian woman--tackling their late twenties over drinks, laughs, and dim sum: M. J. Wyn, the hip, tomboyish sportswriter trying to achieve her dreams of becoming an on-air broadcaster. Ambitious and driven, M.J. has always struggled to fit into different worlds: her high school boyfriend's blue-blooded country club sphere, her family's traditional Chinese culture, and the very white, very male world of sports. Alex Kwan, the confident, tough, no-nonsense attorney constantly fighting the stereotype of the submissive, docile Asian woman. After a heartbreaking romance, Alex has gone from a fearless daredevil to a woman terrified of taking risks--in her career, in her life, and with love. Lin Cho, the risk-taking, daring stockbroker who has spent her whole life trying not to make the mistakes her mother did. But then Lin falls head over heels with the office playboy, a guy she knows she should steer clear of but can't seem to stay away from. Exploring life at the intersection of two worlds--one of Asian grandmothers and red envelopes, and another of career challenges and dating disasters--China Dolls is an exhilarating debut from two sensational new talents.

Lily is the daughter of a humble farmer, and to her family she is just another expensive mouth to feed. Then the local matchmaker delivers startling news: if Lily's feet are bound properly, they will be flawless. In nineteenth-century China, where a woman's eligibility is judged by the shape and size of her feet, this is extraordinary good luck. Lily now has the power to make a good marriage and change the fortunes of her family. To prepare for her new life, she must undergo the agonies of footbinding, learn nu shu, the famed secret women's writing, and make a very special friend, Snow Flower. But a bitter reversal of fortune is about to change everything.