Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Downstairs Girl
    The Downstairs Girl
    The Downstairs Girl
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Downstairs Girl

    Written by Stacey Lee

    Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From the critically-acclaimed author of Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon and founding member of We Need Diverse Books comes a powerful novel about identity, betrayal, and the meaning of family.

    By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateAug 13, 2019
    ISBN9781541445291
    The Downstairs Girl

    Related to The Downstairs Girl

    Related audiobooks

    YA Historical For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Mrs W-C Gets The BRUSH-OFF

      Jun 1, 2022

      Mrs W-C Gets The BRUSH-OFF
      3 min read

    • Article

      Chris Erskine: We're In Need Of A Little Refinishing

      May 1, 2018

      We are a house of half-done things. The tomatoes are semi-planted, and the old dresser may never be refinished. The other day, I noticed the electric pencil sharper has a little stub in it from when someone broke off a tip. One of the inmates was pro

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Man I Should Have Married

      Dec 29, 2019

      The Man I Should Have Married
      11 min read

    • Article

      New DATING

      Mar 2, 2022

      New DATING
      3 min read

    • Article

      LeTtER BOCKS

      May 16, 2024

      letters@viz.co.uk| toptips@viz.co.uk Your correspondence to VIZ editor HAMPTON DOUBLEDAY I SIMPLY don’t believe that a working class bloke like Jesus would refer to a sit-down meal with his mates as a supper. Supper would be them all watching telly a

      14 min read

    • Article

      Wish You Weren’t Here!

      Oct 11, 2016

      Wish You Weren’t Here!
      2 min read

    • Article

      A PRECIOUS Moment In Time

      Jun 17, 2019

      There’s something about Lambrook Hall that always draws me back and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been here. I don’t really care if it’s hundreds, to be honest. I can’t resist it. I’m in the dining room again now. Not the ballroom or the lib

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Conversation

      Nov 1, 2023

      The Art Of Conversation
      4 min read

    • Article

      What’s Your Problem?

      Nov 3, 2021

      Q I am 40 years old, live in a rural area and recently inherited a substantial sum. I have given up work and spend my time pottering about the house, reading, listening to the radio and taking naps. Life would be perfect were it not for my housekeepe

      4 min read

    • Article

      Where is THE LOVE?

      May 12, 2019

      Where is THE LOVE?
      3 min read

    • Article

      People Are Strange

      Oct 13, 2019

      People Are Strange
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Nitty Gritty

      Jun 9, 2019

      The Nitty Gritty
      3 min read

    • Article

      Book Extract

      May 16, 2022

      Book Extract
      5 min read

    • Article

      Another Gift Bag On The Porch. Thanks, Secret Santa

      Jan 1, 2019

      We put a new roof on the house last week, so I expect it never to rain again. It's one of those rules of inverse preparation. You wash the car; it rains. You put a new lid on the house; it doesn't. Call it "Erskine's Law": the ultimate triumph of iro

      3 min read

    • Article

      How To Be A Real Man

      Jun 1, 2020

      How To Be A Real Man
      3 min read

    • Article

      Wanted: ONE MAN

      Nov 29, 2023

      ‘We desperately need a man,’ said Mrs Beasley, the manager of our charity shop. ‘Speak for yourself,’ said my colleague Wendy, which was quite brave, as Mrs B is renowned across five counties for having no sense of humour. We’d just closed the shop,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Dear Frankie

      Aug 1, 2021

      Dear Frankie
      19 min read

    • Article

      The Money Box

      Jun 10, 2022

      This is not a morality tale. It’s simply a story. It began innocently enough, over a lunch of beef pho in the Financial District, when my friend Paolo first mentioned the Money Box. Paolo was a pupa of industry then, waiting to emerge as a titan. He

      19 min read

    • Article

      Socks APPEAL

      Dec 20, 2023

      Have you noticed the way that life, a cunning little minx if ever there was one, will never let you get the best of it twice in a row? When something good happens, there must always be something that isn’t quite as good to even things out. So if you

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Downstairs Girl

    4/5

    350 ratings26 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a great story with good character development and a sweet relationship. The book explores the journey of a multi-dimensional heroine who breaks social norms. It is beautifully written and authentically told, with diverse characters and a unique voice for each. The story is entertaining and enjoyable, with unknown elements that keep readers engaged. The book also provides historical insight and perspective, transporting readers to a different time. Overall, readers highly recommend this book and find it exceptional, with many wanting to read it again.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Cute story. Miss Sweety is clever and entertaining. I'd recommend.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this one! Jo is fiery and opinionated and relatively unafraid to show it - she handles her position in life with careful grace and does it so well! My only complaint is that it took SOOO long for the main conflict to come to a head that the end felt really rushed and a little unsatisfying.
    • 5/5
      What a way with words this author has, and words put together with sentences are so amazingly descriptive. I enjoyed the story, the main character was very likable and intelligent. Really enjoyed the book!
    • 3/5
      It was a good listen. Entertaining. Young adult. Very encouraging .
    • 5/5
      Exceptional. I recommended it to all my friends and the ones that did read it said it was the best book they had read in a long time. I actually bought the hardcover copy after reading the book and I have yet to have it returned to me as my friends keep passing it along to others! It has not been long since I read it and I could totally read it again. That's unusual for me. The narrator does a fabulous job bringing to life the characters, especially Jo.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful Book! Audio reader brought it alive! Almost want to start it over immediately;)
    • 5/5
      Living in the Atlanta area it was enjoyable getting to hear historic places and names that have history in the area. The popular Piedmont Park, Decatur, Pendergrass, and of course including a street called Peachtree. Definitely felt like I was transported from a time past. Now I want to look into the history of Atlanta to feel even more connected.
    • 4/5
      Well written story of a infrequently told view of how the Chinese faced same barriers as other cultures. Ending was a little unbelievable but didn’t take away from tale.
    • 5/5
      The book was very entertaining. It entered the life of someone that belonged to two minority groups after the Civil War (women and Asian). It revolved around her journey of breaking social norms and how she made her footprint.
    • 4/5
      Very enjoyable read. Good character development and sweet relationship. A good bit of unknown too.
    • 5/5
      This book gave me all the feels... laughter, sadness, intelligent banter, dread and anticipation, unexpected twists and turns, great historical insight/perspective, well developed characters, and of course romance, albeit a sliver. I didn't want it to end. Looking for more work from this author. Also, excellent narration!
    • 5/5
      This was such a great story and easy to read. I love the diversity of the characters in which each one had a unique voice. Beautifully written and authentically told from a multi dimensional heroine.
    • 5/5
      What a wonderful book! So many lessons to learn and quotes to ponder❤️
    • 5/5
      I don't usually read this type of book but the blurb pulled me in. The build up was a little slow for me because I am impatient nothing against the author. Overall it was a great story and kept me interested throughout each chapter. Highly recommend this book!
    • 5/5
      Whether you like The Downstairs Girl or not depends on what you crave. If you crave historical fiction that will teach you, or that helps you realize the myriad of things that were going on in a certian place and time (Atlanta during the 1890s, or an imaginative author who never use trite metaphors or similes, you will love this book. Or if you want to quickly turn pages, you will be disappointed. If you want a simple plot, do not read this book. If you want an intricately spun story with plenty of mystrey, humor and many surprises, you will love it.Jo Kuan is a Chinese American without voting rights, deStined to be a servang and doesn;t knw who her mother or father are, lives in a basement of a family with Old Gin who she thinks of as old man who adopted not offically but out of love. Chinese Americans were brought into the South after the Civil War to take over what slaves used to do but instead of no pay, they got tiny pay. You could walk or take a streetcar to work. Blacks sat the back of the streetcars, but if you were Chinese American, you didn't know where you sat or were told to gat off. They could not own or rent, where were you supposed to live; It was the start of Jim Crow laws and of cocoa cola. Women suffragettes started working towards the vote of white women. This was not a quiet oeriod of history.I thoroughly enjoyed this peak at Atlanta in the 1890's through an Asian American young woman's eyes, ears and even her nose.
    • 5/5
      I was going to give this four stars but I'm bumping it up because my mum, who is sick in bed right now, was so very charmed and entertained by this book and she never likes anything.
    • 4/5
      From the founding member of We Need Diverse Books comes a powerful novel about identity, betrayal, and the meaning of family.By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta, Mr. Payne. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal (Billy Riggs), Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South of 1890. Very fast climactic ending with all sorts of surprises!!Best characters: main character Jo, her voice is incredibly insightful; funny: sometimes sarcastic, sometimes joking her “upstairs” family, the Bells -publishers of The Atlanta Focus (newspaper) , esp their teenage son Nathan…. She disguises herself, offers her advice columns samples to him and helps the family newspaper become one ot the most read in AtlantaCaroline Payne, the young woman Jo accompanies -lady’s maid for the wealthy Payne family- snooty, demanding and maybe sneaking around behind her friend’s back seeing Mr. Quackenbach, her “betrothed” or as Jo calls it “playing a little petticoat peekaboo”Sweet Potato – riding horse owned by Old Gin, Jo’s guardian and stable master at Payne estateHorse race ---- social politics------ suffragette (women’s vote) movement---- new inventions: the bicycle!---- urban growth/crime ---- racial discrimination of Asians – finding one’s parents
    • 4/5
      Jo Kuan is a Chinese American young woman living in segregated Atlanta in the years following the Civil War. I loved that she was a strong character that shared her opinions fearlessly in a creative way. I felt like much of the novel was predictable, but it was still entertaining. It was a slice of history, particularly the Chinese American experience, that I knew little about. “We are all like candles, and whether we are single or joined with another does not affect how brightly we can burn.”“Somehow, Old Gin and I have managed to fit ourselves into a society that, like a newspaper, rarely comes in colors other than black and white.”
    • 4/5
      Historical fiction set in late 1800's post Civil War Atlanta. The downstairs girl of the title, Jo Kuan, is a 17 year old Chinese American teen living with Old Gin, the man who raised her since she was left on his doorsteps as a baby. There are issues Jo faces with racism, colorism, discrimination against women (side stories concerning suffragettes) and classism.Jo is spunky and has lots of barriers thrown in her way which she internalizes and strives to overcome, one by one.I guessed the mystery surrounded her parents pretty quickly; follow the breadcrumbs.I listened to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed listening to the narrator Emily Woo Zeller do all the southern accents, both female and male, really well.
    • 3/5
      After being dismissed from her job as a hat maker, Jo Kuan is forced into a job as a lady's maid. Her charge is difficult, cantankerous, and determined to make Jo uncomfortable. Jo and her adopted father, Old Gin, live in a hidden cellar. Above them lives the Bell's a newspaper family. When Jo learns that the newspaper is in trouble, she begins pinning an agony aunt column "Dear Miss Sweetie." Her irreverent columns, and challenges to society's normal quickly lands her in hot water, as people across the city try and uncover her identity.I was pleased to discover a strong, female character, determined to make a difference in the world. I loved Jo's attitude and point of view. Although Jo was a strong character, a lot of the secondary characters were one dimensional and felt like caricatures. The plot itself was a bit predictable, and easily resolved. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.
    • 5/5
      Loved everything about this book! Even the end - no matter what anyone says lol. What great characters... all with great character!
    • 4/5
      This was a very well-crafted YA book, which would also be suitable for adult readers. It had many layers to hold interest, and spoke about a different side to the early 20th Century of Reconstruction in the South. There is discussion of passing, of class, of power, the power of family, both direct and found. I really enjoyed it a great deal.
    • 4/5
      Stacey Lee writes historical fiction for young adults featuring intrepid female characters who fight discrimination and adversity to realize their dreams.The heroine in The Downstairs Girl is Jo Kuan, 17, who is living in Atlanta, Georgia in 1890. She has been brought up by a man she calls Old Gin. He took care of her ever since she was left on his doorstep as an infant. He has been both mother and father to her, as well as teacher and friend, and she is devoted to him. Old Gin couldn’t find anyplace that would rent to the Chinese, so he felt lucky to find a secret basement in which he and Jo could live. Such places were formerly used by abolitionists to hide blacks trying to escape to the North. Both blacks and later Chinese availed themselves of these rough quarters.As the author explains in a Note at the end of the book, when the slaves were freed, Chinese were shipped in, not just to replace them on the plantations, but to help rebuild the South. Lee writes:“Planation owners envisioned an improved system of coerced labor, as Chinese workers were lauded as ‘fine specimens, bright and intelligent’ (New Orleans Times, June 3, 1870). They were dismayed, however, when the Chinese behaved no differently from formerly enslaved blacks. The new workers were unwilling to withstand the terrible conditions and ran away to the cities, and sometimes vanished from the South altogether.After the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 - a federal law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers until 1943 - the Chinese already in the United States could no longer bring their families from China. Isolated and living in the margins of a country that only saw in black and white, they eventually found livelihoods outside the plantations.”The basement harboring Jo and Old Gin was under the home of the Bell family. Mr. Bell ran the “Focus” newspaper. Their son, Nathan, did the political cartoons for the Focus as well as other work at the paper. Nathan was, according to Jo, “my oldest friend, even if he doesn’t know it.” Jo had been eavesdropping on the Bells ever since she could remember. The abolitionists who built the basement cleverly disguised the upstairs end of a speaking tube to resemble a vent so those inhabiting the basement would know if they were discovered or otherwise in danger. Jo explained about her listening to the Bell family, “Their words comforted me on many a lonely night and made me feel like part of a family.”As the story begins, Jo has just been fired from a milliner’s shop not because of her work, which is excellent, but because customers are offended by seeing a Chinese girl there. In addition, she is, in her boss Mrs. English’s assessment, a “saucebox” - “you don’t know when to keep your opinions to yourself.” Mrs. English also blacklisted Jo from working at any other milliner’s shop: “I can’t risk you spilling my secrets.”Old Gin gets Jo a job as a lady’s maid for Caroline Payne on the estate where he works as a groom. It will be a demeaning and demanding job, but she and Old Gin need the money.Meanwhile, the Focus is fighting for its existence. It is losing subscriptions - the paper needs 2,000 more in a month or it will have to shut down. The only feature their rival the “Trumpeter” has that they lack is “Advice from Aunt Edna.” Clearly the Focus also needs an advice columnist, but, as Jo thinks, “something different from Aunt Edna, something radical . . . Why put a second horse in a race when you can put in a dragon, which not only flies but eats horses for breakfast?”Jo decides that if she is such a saucebox, maybe she would make a good “agony aunt.” [“Agony aunt” is a phrase denoting the writer of an advice column in a newspaper or other periodical.] She reasons:“I have opinions, just like everyone else. And outside of the Bells, if anyone knows the Focus, it’s me. . . . No one would know my identity. The best way to deliver the truth, if not posthumously, is anonymously.”Thus Jo begins submitting columns to the Focus under the byline of “Miss Sweetie,” and the columns are wildly popular. Circulation soars, and curiosity about her identity mounts. But this isn’t the only secret in play. Jo is investigating the mystery of her own past, and what she discovers is startling.The story concludes with an Epilogue that will satisfy readers, like me, who like to know how all the plot lines get resolved.Discussion: A number of issues relevant to the 1890s [and still today, sadly] play into the story, including rights for women, racism against those who have darker skin, and the disparities in opportunities and resources between rich and poor. The author shows how these problems effect Jo’s life, and her fortitude and determination in dealing with them. As Jo muses later:“Millinery gave me a way to be seen; Miss Sweetie gave a voice to be heard. But maybe what I needed most of all was simply the freedom to walk out from the shadows of my hat. Somehow, Old Gin and I have managed to fit ourselves into a society that, like a newspaper, rarely comes in colors other than black and white. There will always be those who keep their distance. But there will also be those who don’t mind riding their safeties [bicycles] in my lane.”Evaluation: This is a delightful story with a courageous, plucky heroine who is sweet, witty, and persistent in spite of all the barriers in her path. This would make a great book for teens (and older!), who can't help but be inspired by Jo.
    • 4/5
      This was a fascinating look at life in Atlanta during the late 1800's. The Civil War is over and slavery has been abolished, but race is still dividing the city. In addition, women are showing their independence and clamoring for the vote. Jo Kuan, a young Chinese woman, serves as a ladie's maid, but secretly also pens an advice column that provides a scathing commentary about the inequity of Atlanta society.I found myself racing through this book and enjoying every minute. Insightful characters with a fast-paced plot. Definitely a good read for YA or tweens.
    • 4/5
      Set about twenty-five years after the Civil Way, Jo Kuan is making her living with a milliner when her job is cut to make way for a less talented white girl. I never realized that after the Civil War, many of the Asians from out West headed to the South for work and a limbo of sorts. There was an interesting moment when Jo, clearly a bright girl, doesn't want to take a spot from a black student at school. She goes back to work as the maid for a wealthy family, and from the hideout under a newspaper office, begins penning letters and answers for worries of the day for Atlantans. Between race, suffragists and the criminal underbelly of the town, this story had a bit of everything and made for a great read.
    • 4/5
      Stacey Lee writes some of my hands-down favorite YA historical fiction and The Downstairs Girl does not disappoint. There were some things that felt a little too convenient or coincidental and I have some questions about the results of the horse race (which I won't share here because spoilers), but Jo was an amazing heroine with whom I really enjoyed spending my time. And, unfortunately for us all, the parallels between society and politics and race relations in 1890 and now are depressingly obvious. The research and love of history are clear but, as always it's Lee's characters who shine brightly from the pages. Not just Jo but Old Gin—especially Old Gin— and Noemi and Sweet Potato (yes, the horse) and the Paynes and the Bells and even the despicable Billy Riggs. As long as Stacey Lee wants to continue writing historical fiction, I will want to continue reading it.