Fishbone Cinderella is a story of family, of love, loss, and redemption, with a shimmer of magic. Through the trials of war and immigration, a mother and daughter must break their family’s curse in this tender and enchanting multi-generational saga, a true exploration of what it means, at last, to be seen.
San Francisco, 1980
MARIGOLD
Marigold Yuen used to think she had a knack for fixing things. Cs in chemistry, car lockouts and tangled cassette tapes, even ankle sprains—every aunty north of Ashby Ave knew to come to her for a miracle repair.
But at twenty four, she had learned that there were two things beyond her skill: The heart she’d broken, for one. And then there was her mother.
Helen had slipped away to the airplane lavatory fifteen minutes ago. Were it anyone else, Marigold would have assumed a case of first-flight nerves—nothing to worry about. But this was her mother. Nothing was normal when it came to her mother.
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A bracelet. A curse. And golden fishbones to be returned to the sea . . .
Guangdong, 1940. When Ha Yut Ying narrowly escapes Japanese soldiers by turning invisible, she knows her new-found magic must be kept a secret. But her mother, whose dreams foretell the future, suspects her daughter has changed, and warns her of a curse upon their family. For her protection, she gives her a gold bracelet whose links are shaped like fishbones.
After the war, Ha Yut Ying is sent to live with her father and his second wife, who have become wealthy factory owners in Hong Kong. Her stepmother, jealous of her beauty, forces her to work in the family's shoe factory.
But when Yut Ying collides with a boy on a bicycle on her way to work, she loses her bracelet. The boy is Tommy Yeung, scion of a local soymilk tycoon. And their encounter will change both of their destinies forever . . .