Based upon events in the life of the author's wife's grandmother, Gum Moon (Cantonese for "Gold Door" or "Golden Gate") is an award-winning novel in Writer's Digest's 2019 self-published competition. An Honorable Mention in the Mainstream/Literary Fiction category, and an "Education for Mission" 2021-2022 Reading Program selection by United Methodist Women, Gum Moon is the remarkable coming of age story of a Chinese-American girl, Mei Chun Lai, who is sold in 1898 at the age of three to a cruel brothel keeper. A sympathetic prostitute befriends Chun, but during a plague quarantine, Chun is thrust into a bewildering new world when she is rescued by a friend of Donaldina Cameron and placed in a Home for abused and trafficked girls. The Home is destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, but Chun (aka "Maud") survives. In an attempt to raise funds to rebuild the Home, Maud and a group of seven other Chinese children embark on a cross-country singing tour. Performing for President Theodore Roosevelt is the highlight of the journey, but when the matron of the Home suffers a breakdown, thirteen year-old Maud must find within herself the strength and resolve to lead the band of children home.
✔ Author(s): Jeffrey L Staley
✔ Title: Gum Moon: A Novel of San Francisco Chinatown
✔ Rating : 4.4 out of 5 base on (187 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1732244502
✔ ISBN-13: 9781732244504
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
Readers' opinions about Gum Moon by Jeffrey L Staley
Sarah Franklin
I must confess, this book made me shed tears like never before. The themes of love, loss, and resilience struck a chord with my soul. It was an emotional journey I'm grateful to have taken.
Daphne Garner
The plot was incredibly well-crafted, with twists and turns that kept me hooked until the very last page. It was impossible to predict what would happen next.
Iris Watts
This book is a work of art. The language, the imagery, the symbolism - everything came together beautifully to create a memorable reading experience.
