The Scavenger's Daughters: a story of family and bonds stronger than blood

The Scavenger’s Daughters is the first book in Kay Bratt’s Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters series. After surviving torture and imprisonment during China’s Cultural Revolution (read all about it in the series’ prequel, The Palest Ink), Benfu finds love and a life with the compassionate and beautiful Calla Lily. Together they build a life around the most menial jobs, Benfu’s work as a scavenger or trash collector. As he sorts through the trash left behind by others, he regularly discovers abandoned children. With unwavering determination, Benfu and Calli create a family of these children. When a crisis threatens to tear their family apart, Benfu, Calli and their headstrong daughters must find a way to overcome their greatest hardship yet. 

The Scavenger’s Daughters was inspired by a true story and Ms. Bratt weaves a tale of triumph in the face of hardship and the unbreakable bonds of family against all odds. I fell in love with Benfu and Calli in The Palest Ink and looked forward to reading about the family they create together. From the very beginning, it is made clear that Benfu and Calli make it their life’s mission to “care for the castaways that fate brought into their lives.” Each daughter has her own past, strengths and struggles and Benfu and Calli find ways to help each girl focus on their strengths and overcome their struggles. It is a beautiful story and I highly recommend The Scavenger’s Daughters!

The Scavenger’s Daughters is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Ten Women: stories of life and finding common bonds

Ten Women by Marcela Serrano is the stories of nine women and their psychiatrist. They come from very different backgrounds, very different lifestyles in Chile. Ranging from a teenager who is confronting her sexual identity to an old woman confronting the loneliness of old age and despite the differences in ages and their backgrounds, these women representing the variety of the cultural and social groups in Chile. On the surface, it would seem they would have nothing in common. However, a common thread brings them together: their psychiatrist. As each woman shares their stories, they discover they may have more in common then they originally thought. Through these new commonalities, they form bonds and friendships in which transforms their lives in ways they never imagined.

Ten Woman would be read as a collection of short stories; unfortunately for me, the connection between the women seemed to be lost. While many of their stories had commonalties, it got to the point that it was repetitious I enjoyed each woman’s story on its own, but the cohesiveness is murkier. I would still recommend it as Ten Woman brings stories of a part of the world many of us never think about and possibly think we would not have anything in common. However, each of these stories could be find here in the United States or anywhere in the world. If you choose to read Ten Women, I recommend reading it as a collection of short stories rather than a cohesive plot.

 

Ten Woman is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook