The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

Publisher: Putnam
Publication Date:  August 13th 2019
Pages: 374

Jo Kuan is a seventeen year old Chinese woman living in racially segregated Atlanta in the late 19th century. When the story starts, the reader gets to know that she is good at making hats for ladies, and that she just lost her job as a lady's maid for a wealthy lady. She lives illegally with an old man named Old Gin in the cellar of a newspaper owning family, who never discovered that they lived there, and they hope to keep it that way. Because it is hard for Chinese people to live, as there are a lot of restrictions and limitations for them, like they can't rent a room or buy a house. She gets a new job at a house of a wealthy family she already know, the wealthy Payne family as a maid for their snotty daughter, who does everything she can to make Jo miserable.
Nobody knows that beside her work, she recently anonymously applied and got the job for the newspaper advice column '''Dear Miss Sweetie'', at the newspaper of her upstairs neighbors. Their newspaper is struggling, and the hope is that this column will raise the selling numbers.

With the column, she anonymously has the chance to write about topics that are normally not talked about; the racism that she and and many others face everyday and that it has to end. But she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column becomes popular but challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. Especially when readers are quite keen to find out who this secret and anonymous Miss Sweetie is. And then, she discovers an even more dark secret about her own hidden childhood that's connected to the Payne family where she works which turns her whole life upside down for good...

I really enjoyed this entertaining book! The writing is just brilliant,  and perfect. The plot is absolutely amazing! The story gives a good look in the harsh world that Chinese and everyone of color had to face during that time, which was absolutely cruel and so unfair. I really liked Jo's character, she is smart, talented, honest and can't stand everything unfair and unjust. I loved how her character progressed and alltough there where a lot of limitations for her, she stood tall and fought back. Especially to the bad behaving daugther of the Payne's. And I love the big plot twist that happened, I really didn't see that one coming and it was an entertaining surprise in a brilliant book. I definately recommend this book for everyone who loves a great and original historical story!!