The Downstairs Girl Book Review

 











1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lee, S. (2021). The Downstairs Girl. Ember. ISBN: 978-1-52474-097-9

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

The Downstairs Girl tells the story of Jo Kuan, a maid for a wealthy family in Atlanta, GA. She lives in a secret basement with her “uncle” Old Gin below a family who runs a newspaper. Through injustices seen and heard, she secretly takes on an advice column under the pseudonym Miss Sweetie. She soon learns that some secrets and debts threaten her life. Will she reveal that she is Miss Sweetie and face the consequences?

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This historical young adult fiction book is written by Stacey Lee. It falls under the category of historical era historical fiction. This novel takes place post-Civil War in the South where prejudices are still prevalent and women are fighting for equality. It involves fictional characters but the story tells of how unfairly races and women were treated. Bias and racism are at the forefront of this novel. This novel follows Jo Kuan, her uncle Old Gin, the family running the newspaper upstairs from their secret basement, and the Payne family whom they work for. The characters are developed in an extremely believable way and seem to parallel how racism and prejudices are still alive today. The emotions carried throughout are the injustices faced during a still volatile time in our history. The reader is left with an understanding of the social status and the plight of minorities. It ends with hope for Jo as she discovers her true identity and no longer has to lie in fear. I enjoyed this book because Jo faces an uphill battle throughout most of the book and handles things with brevity most 17-year-old girls could only dream of in that era. 


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

  • Booklist starred, 06/01/19

  • Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred, 07/01/19

  • Kirkus Reviews, 06/01/19

  • Publishers Weekly starred, 06/10/19

  • School Library Journal starred, 06/01/19

  • Teacher Librarian, 10/01/19

  • Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), 06/01/19


  • Booklist starred (June 1, 2019 (Vol. 115, No. 19))

  • Grades 9-12. It’s 1890 in Atlanta, and Jo Kuan has a secret: she’s the anonymous author of the popular, yet polarizing, new agony aunt column “Dear Miss Sweetie.” After spending her life living in a secret basement room (a relic of the Underground Railroad) beneath the press offices of The Focus, a newspaper run by the Bell family, she’s picked up a masterful vocabulary to match her sharp wit, and the combination proves intoxicating to Atlanta’s young ladies. But if anyone found out that a Chinese American teenager was behind the column, she’d be run out of town or worse. Lee (Outrun the Moon, 2016) has concocted another thrilling historical novel, blending stellar plotting and a dynamic cast of characters with well-researched details and sharp commentary on America’s history of racism and prejudice. She pulls no punches when it comes to Jo’s experiences of being Chinese in the Reconstruction South: a meeting of Atlanta’s suffragettes proves unwelcoming despite their claim to want votes for all women, and though there’s stirring romance between Jo and the son of the Bell family, Jo acknowledges the difficulties in that path. But best of all is Jo’s first-person narrative, which crackles with as much witty wordplay and keen observations as her column. This spectacular, voice-driven novel raises powerful questions about how we understand the past, as well as the ways our current moment is still shaped by that understanding.



  • 5. CONNECTIONS

Lee, S. (2022). Luck of the Titanic. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN: 978-1-66885-374-0 

Lee, S.  (2023). Kill her twice. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN: 978-0-593-53204-1

Activities:

Students can create an advice column like Miss Sweetie’s





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