The book Wuhu Diary by Emily Prager was a wonderful story about a mother who takes her daughter back to China to see where her roots are. Lulu was abandoned near a police station in Wuhu, China. One of the lucky children who end up adopted by American families unable to have children of their own, or just wanting a new special member to their family. Emily adopted Lulu in 1994, right after the Chinese government opened the adoption road for thousands of American families. In 1999, Emily decided that four and a half year old Lulu was ready for a trip to see where she came from and to see why she didn't really look like her mommy. So, thousands of miles from "home", Emily and Lulu take on an adventure that is amazing and surreal.
This book was written with such rich description and warmth that it solidified my determination to visit China. I have also always thought of adopting, even when I was too young to even have a boyfriend. So the inside story of how the young daughter adapted to her American family was inspirational and touching for me. I think that anybody with an interest in China, adoption or adopting a young girl from China should read this book. Emily Prager should be commended for her efforts of helping her daughter understand that even though her family abandoned her, she had perfectly wonderful new family and that her history was both in China and her new home, America.
On a rather strange side note, I read this just days before I read Shanghai Baby by Wei Hui. The strange part is that they take place at the exact same time frame as one another. While Emily and Lulu had to deal with prejudices brought on the bombing of the Chinese embassy, Wei Hui's character Coco found it just slightly interesting and talked about it for only a few pages. The bombing affected a foreign visitor much more than it did a native of China. This odd sort of juxtaposition was very interesting to me.
Five Stars *****
