“The Downstairs Girl” by Stacey Lee is a young adult historical fiction novel set in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1890. The story follows the life of Jo Kuan, a seventeen-year-old Chinese American girl who works as a lady’s maid for a wealthy Southern family during the day and writes an anonymous advice column for a local newspaper at night.

Jo’s experiences as a Chinese American in the South are marked by discrimination and racism, which inspire her to use her column to challenge societal norms and injustices. As she becomes more outspoken, Jo attracts the attention of a variety of community members, both positive and negative, including her employer’s son, whose attraction to Jo complicates her work and personal life.

As the story progresses, Jo learns more about her family’s past and heritage, including the reason why they moved to the United States, and the book ultimately explores themes of identity, belonging, and empowerment as Jo navigates her complex identity and challenges systemic oppression in her community.

• The Downstairs Girl

• By: Stacey Lee
• Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

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, 17-year-old Jo Kuan works as a maid for the evil daughter of one of Atlanta’s richest men. But at night, Jo rose to fame as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for gentle Southern ladies, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” When her column became hugely popular, she used the power of her pen to tackle some of society’s evils, but she was unprepared for the backlash that ensued after the column. Hers challenges fixed ideas about race and gender.

While her rivals call for the discovery of Miss Sweetie’s secret identity, a mysterious letter prompts Jo to begin a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts land her in the sights of Atlanta’s most notorious criminal, Jo must decide if she, a girl accustomed to living in the dark, is ready to come to the light.

With witty, poignant and sometimes heartbreaking prose, Stacey Lee expertly crafted an extraordinary social drama set in the New South.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. I loved all the sayings. The underdog came out like a Champ.

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