The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning (TLC Book Tour)

Did you know that Shanghai opened its doors to more than 20,000 refugees during World War II, a time when the majority of other countries would not let refugees in?  I did not and learned a lot by reading the riveting novel, The Song of the Jade Lily.

Romy is a young Austrian Jewish girl that is forced to flee her homeland with her parents after the Nazi’s brutally murder one of her brothers and send the other to a concentration camp in 1938.  Shanghai is the one place taking refugees without a Visa and the family is happy they are able to escape.  As Romy learns the new language and culture in the vibrant city of Shanghai, she befriends her next-door neighbor Li and her intriguing brother Jian.  She remains friends with Nina, a young Jewish girl who traveled over on the same ship.  As the Japanese start to take over the City and the war now invades their new home, will the family and friends survive?

In 2016, Alexandra is a stock trader in London who has returned to Australia for her grandfather’s funeral.  She has just had a bad breakup with her long-term boyfriend and is going to make a fresh start in the Shanghai office after the funeral. Knowing her mother was adopted from China, Alexandra wants to know to know more of her history.  As she tries to find what she wants in life and research her mother’s past, what family secrets will she uncover?

I LOVED this novel.  It was a fast paced and intriguing read that kept me reading too long into the night to see what would happen next.  It was a part of WWII history that I had never read about before and I thought it was very interesting.  I loved that the story was a great story of family, friendships, and love and what they all mean in times of trial.

I also enjoy narratives that have two different viewpoints, one in the past and one in the present that intersect.  I love that Alexandria was able to finally understand and learn the truth about her grandparents.    

Favorite Quote:

“We can’t choose what happens to us.  But we can choose how we respond.”

Overall, The Song of the Jade Lily is a fascinating drama that delves into an overlooked part of history.

Book Source:  Review Copy as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you!  For more stops on the tour, check out this link.

About The Song of the Jade Lily

• Hardcover: 480 pages • Publisher: William Morrow (May 14, 2019) “Kirsty Manning weaves together little-known threads of World War II history, family secrets, the past and the present into a page-turning, beautiful novel."— Heather Morris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz A gripping historical novel that tells the little-known story of Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai during WWII.
  
1939: Two young girls meet in Shanghai, also known as the “Paris of the East”. Beautiful local Li and Jewish refugee Romy form a fierce friendship, but the deepening shadows of World War II fall over the women as they slip between the city's glamorous French Concession district and the teeming streets of the Shanghai Ghetto. Yet soon the realities of war prove to be too much for these close friends as they are torn apart.  

2016: Fleeing London with a broken heart, Alexandra returns to Australia to be with her grandparents, Romy and Wilhelm. Her grandfather is dying, and over the coming weeks Romy and Wilhelm begin to reveal the family mysteries they have kept secret for more than half a century. As fragments of her mother's history finally become clear, Alexandra struggles with what she learns while more is also revealed about her grandmother's own past in Shanghai. After Wilhelm dies, Alexandra flies to Shanghai, determined to trace her grandparents' past. Peeling back the layers of their hidden lives, she is forced to question what she knows about her family—and herself.  

The Song of the Jade Lily is a lush, provocative, and beautiful story of friendship, motherhood, the price of love, and the power of hardship and courage that can shape us all.
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Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Kirsty Manning

Kirsty Manning grew up in northern New South Wales, Australia. She has degrees in literature and communications and worked as an editor and publishing manager in book publishing for over a decade. A country girl with wanderlust, her travels and studies have taken her through most of Europe, the east, and west coasts of the United States as well as pockets of Asia. Kirsty’s journalism and photography specializing in lifestyle and travel regularly appear in magazines, newspapers, and online. She lives in Australia. Find out more about Kirsty at her website, and connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.