‘The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane’ by Lisa See

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“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.

Learn more about Lisa See.

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