Good books should excite the reader, appeal to a large audience, elicit strong emotions and in this book’s case, encourage you to delve deeper into the cultural significance to better understand its characters. This story does all this while drawing you into Zhong Mei Lin's world. Set against the backdrop of China's economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping and China's one-child family planning policy, the reader is drawn into Zhong Mei Lin's struggles as she strives to fulfill her father's declaration that she truly is... “A daughter of a thousand pieces of gold" A wonderful read. You will struggle to put this book down to get your chores done!