The Bonesetter's Daughter By Amy Tan (Grades 7-9)

Amy Tan was born in California to Chinese immigrants. When she was 15, her elder brother and father died due to brain tumours, leaving her, her mother, and her younger brother. Tan had a difficult relationship with her mother, which ended up being the basis of many of her novels such as her first novel, Joy Luck Club. The Bonesetter’s Daughter tells the story of Ruth in the first half of the book, who is having to deal with her mother who is seemingly getting more demented, her boyfriend and his two daughters, and her work as a ghostwriter for self-help books. The other half of the book recounts the story of Ruth’s mother, Lu Ling, and her past. Through this, Ruth finally understands the roots of her mother’s seemingly erratic behaviours.