A Welcome Misfortune: a story of survival and courage

A Welcome Misfortune is the first book in The Sworn Sisters duology by Kay Bratt. An infant girl was born into the House of Lai, a middle-class Chinese family. She is torn from her mother and casted aside by her father. Declared a misfortune, she is to be left by the famous Chaozhou wall where many unwanted girls are abandoned to be picked up by someone else or, worse, to die. But when 18-year old Min Kao is urged by his desperate mother to see the baby girl to safety, he can’t help but be drawn to his little sister he names Luli. At the same time on the island of Hong Kong, in the affluent house of a scholar, Sun Ling and Jingwei, are indentured servants and sworn sisters, bound by their shared struggles. They find their window to escape from the hardship and abuse and board a ship board for San Francisco, California. When the paths of these three forgotten girls meet on the ship, together they will weather a treacherous journey with the hopes that they will find a better future in America. 

A Welcome Misfortune weaves an incredible story of survival and courage. Ms. Bratt is a master storyteller who brings hard hitting truth and heart to her stories. I thoroughly enjoyed her Scavenger's Daughters series and eagerly looked forward to the Sworn Sisters duology. The story opens with a bang and does not let go as Luli, Min Kao, Sun Ling and Jingwei begin their journeys to a better life. Even as they make their way to freedom, they must make life and death decisions with not so savory options. The discrimination and mistreatment they face simply because they are women and in America, because they are Chinese is horrifying. Despite this treatment, they hold to their dream of a better life than the one they left behind. They strive to show their worth and value in a world that would overlook them. There was one revelation that I had an inkling that would happen. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t cry tears of joy when it happened. If you enjoy an historical immigrant story of strength, courage and endurance, I highly recommend A Welcome Misfortune. 

A Welcome Misfortune is available in paperback and eBook