Downstairs Girl

From the founding member of We Need Diverse Books comes a powerful novel about identity, betrayal, and the meaning of family.

By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South.

Un membru puternic despre identitate, tradare si semnificatia familiei vine de la membrul fondator al We Need Diverse Books. In zilele noastre, Jo Kuan, in varsta de saptesprezece ani, lucreaza ca femeie de serviciu pentru fiica cruda a unuia dintre cei mai bogati barbati din Atlanta. Insa noaptea, Jo Moonlight este autorul pseudonim al unei rubrici de sfaturi din ziarul pentru eleganta doamna din sud, „Draga Miss Sweetie”. Cand coloana ei devine extrem de populara, foloseste puterea stiloului pentru a aborda unele dintre problemele societatii, dar nu este pregatita pentru reactia care urmeaza atunci cand coloana ei contesta idei fixe despre rasa si gen.