Now Read This: 'The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane' by Lisa See

Throughout my library career I have been fascinated by stories that revolve around Chinese culture. Author Lisa See has been a great find for me because in all her stories she explores China and the Chinese-American experience from a female point of view.

“The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” takes place during the period from 1988 to 2016. In a remote mountain village, the survival of an Akha tribe, one of China’s 55 ethnic minorities, depends on tea. The main character Li-Yan and her family, devote their lives to farming tea. The tribe still follows the old rituals and beliefs until a stranger appears in search of the best tea. His arrival marks the entrance of the modern world into the lives of the Akha people. The novel follows Li-Yan, the first of her tribe to finish school and go on to college, as she becomes an expert in tea and helps her village to prosper. It also details her life-long search for the daughter she gave up for adoption. As the novel progresses, the reader is introduced to the unusual beliefs of the tribe and to the value of high quality tea. The most valued tea comes from the oldest trees where it has absorbed the flavors that surround it and is then left to ferment for many years. I love the way See intertwines the lives of her characters in this book. This is the first book See has published since losing her own mother, so she focuses on the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters, by birth and by circumstance.

The library own copies of “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” in both regular and large print and in the audio Playaway format. (A Playaway is a self contained audiobook that only requires one AA battery and headphones to operate. The library’s Playaways are interfiled with the audiobooks on CD.)

The first novel I ever read by Lisa See was “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan,” which revolves around the ancient tradition of foot binding. We currently have that title in paper and e-formats. The library owns several of her other titles, including “China Dolls,” “Dreams of Joy” and “Shanghai Girls,” all of which we have in a variety of formats.

Happy readings!