‘The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane’ by Lisa See

“The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” tells the story of Li-Yan, who lives with her family in a remote mountain village where life revolves around tradition, ritual and farming tea. That is, until a stranger driving a jeep appears in the village.

This is the first time Li-Yan’s people are introduced to the modern world, and she begins to question her people’s traditions. When she conceives a child with a man her parents do not like, tradition says the child should be killed. Instead, Li-Yan takes the child to an orphanage, where the baby is adopted and raised by loving parents in California who name her Haley.

Li-Yan begins a transformation of her own, moving to the city to become an educated businesswoman. Still, she yearns for her daughter, while across the ocean, Haley wonders about her origins.