Staff Picks: Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins by Barbara Demick

One of my ongoing reading goals is to read a book from or about a different country. When I saw Daughters of the Bamboo Grove on the New Nonfiction eAudio list on Libby, I was immediately intrigued. I knew little about modern Chinese history before picking up this book and I had heard stories about China’s one-child policy, mostly about infant girls being left on streets because parents would rather have a son. Little did I know there was so much more to learn about this “social experiment.”

Barbara Demick is an American journalist who was the bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times in Beijing and Seoul and has written additional nonfiction books about modern Asia. Her latest book, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove, gives a humanistic and eye-opening view of China’s one-child policy which lasted from 1979 to 2015. Telling a different side from what most Westerners have heard about China, Demick writes of how thousands of these Chinese babies were kidnapped from their families in broad daylight then marketed as “orphans” or “abandoned” due to the increasing demand of international families and couples looking to adopt.

The book can be divided into three sections. In the first few chapters, Demick recounts the history and execution of the controversial social policy and the consequences we are already seeing today. The middle section is Demick’s own story about her journey investigating these “abandoned” children, recording first-hand accounts from the families, or victims, most of whom are from the Hunan Province in southern China. Throughout the whole book, Demick follows the story of a family from Hunan who had twin girls in 2000 with one of the infants being kidnapped, put up for adoption under false pretenses, and was soon adopted by an American couple. The last third of the book details Demick’s personal journey of reuniting the kidnapped twin with her birth family who never gave up searching for their daughter. She closes the book with a look at how China is currently handling the consequences of their “social experiment” in the rapid decrease of their population and how technology has made it easier for adoptees to find their biological parents.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in modern Chinese history and social customs, and about the operations and outcomes of international adoptions.

If you don’t have time for the 330-something page book, read  Demick’s Los Angeles Times article about the reunion of the twin girls in 2019 when they were 16-years-old. Demick also wrote an article for The New Yorker about China’s stolen adoptees discovering their true origins.

Fiction Readalikes

• The Leftover Woman: A Novel by Jean Kwok
• Girls on the Line by Jennie Liu (TH)
• Frog: a novel by Mo Yan - recommended by the author in the book

Nonfiction Readalikes

• One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment by Mei Fong

Jessica Dillard

Information Specialist

Denmark Library

Staff Picks: Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox

Growing up in the late 80s-early 90s, Back to the Future is a classic that I have seen many times and still quote to my children today. Michael J. Fox held many roles throughout his career but the one he is most known for is Marty McFly in Back to the Future. His new memoir, Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum is a perfect listen for fans of the film. 

In 1985, Michael J. Fox was offered his first movie role as the now iconic Marty McFly in Back to the Future. However, he was already committed to the show Family Ties playing the conservative son to 60s era parents Steven and Elyse Keaton. Fox recounts the grueling schedule of being Alex P. Keaton during the day and transforming into Marty McFly at night while trying not to lose himself along the way. He also discusses the challenge of convincing his costars, all established movie actors, that a television actor can replace a previous actor for this star role. The audiobook is read by Fox himself and includes movie clips and interviews from the cast and crew.

Jessica Giles

Circulation Supervisor

Cumming Library

Staff Picks: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

As a former airline employee and avid traveler who can’t always travel due to the size of my large family, I’ve had to make a tradeoff and rely on books to transport me around the world!

Set in Dorset between 1955 and 1968, this U.S. debut from journalist and novelist Clare Leslie Hall offers something for fans of historical fiction, mystery, and romance alike.

The story centers on Beth and her life on the farm with her husband Frank in a narrative that explores the complexities of marriage, family, and loyalty. Beth is not an immediately likable protagonist—she's flawed and makes choices that challenge readers—but by the novel's end, her circumstances reveal a character worth understanding and even sympathizing with. Frank himself is equally compelling, a character rich enough to merit his own story. Together, their relationship forms a complex web of romantic and familial love that proves both heartbreaking and impossible to put down.

If you enjoyed: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Perfect for: Readers who love character-driven historical fiction with emotional depth

Broken Country is available at the library in both regular and large print, and as an eBook through FCPL’s digital collection.

Find Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall on our website.

Joanie Goforth
FCPL Outreach Specialist