Adeline: Swimming Upriver

Wow. A Chinese Cinderella was a confusing read. Initially I thought it was about a girl goes to the ball and loses her slipper, but that must’ve been something else. I'm not sure how to feel about it, as our characters seemed to want pity from the readers, and the readers don't really feel connected to the characters because of the dullness of the book. It's got a great idea behind it, but could've been developed a bit better.

What we have realized is that there is a lot that can go on behind closed doors, and yeah that's pretty much it.

Alright. The things below are the things required in this blog post. *Attempts to make awkward transition less awkward but fails miserably*

Our primary realization was that “What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger” by great philosopher Kelly Clarkson. Adeline grew stronger through the hardships she endured in her childhood.

Brief synopsis: Adeline Yen was like Cinderella-- neglected as a child, and expected to work for herself while her step-siblings lived luxuriously. Even though she was academically talented, she still strived to have her father’s pride and affection. This story is her story (too bad she's not a boy or else we could've said “history”, get it?). Read reviews on Goodreads.

Connection to society: Adeline’s story can be seen in many other places around the world as well. According to compassion.com (Click Here), between 500 million and 1.5 children in the world endure some sort of violence. These statistics are shockingly high, as the current population is seven(!) people. However, if these statistics are true, then more than 15% of the world is being/has been abused before, and even higher of a percentage of children.

• There has also been a 331% increase in child abuse and neglect reports in the US from 1976 to 1996.
• A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds in the US.
• Individuals who reported having multiple bad experiences in childhood had a life expectancy up to two decades shorter than those with no experience.
• 14% of men and 36% of women in prison were abused as children.
• That means that people are bad if they're bad
• Children who experience abuse are nine times more likely to become involved in criminal activity.

Stop Child Abuse

While Adeline’s experience may not have been as severe as the ones listed above, it is clear that there is a connection between Adeline and these child abuse statistics. Adeline did experience child abuse such as mental abuse and neglect. These statistics are also interesting to look at because Adeline’s determination led her to contradict all of the stereotypes (some are shocking true and backed up by statistics).

These two sources have big connections, and because of the personal story from Adeline, these connections become three-dimensional in the way that there are people who can swim upriver and stay strong. This is very inspiring, and this should be embraced throughout all cultures. Sounds a bit like "Be-YOU-tiful". Adeline's story is one that many kids cannot tell because of the severeness of their abuse, and that is something that needs to be stopped. The central idea of our memoir was that hardships can make you stronger, but honestly, they can only make you stronger if they don't kill you. Many kids are pushed to their breaking point, and at that point, there is nothing that is positive out of that experience. Adeline should be remembered as "One Who Could" and should be looked up to by all kids, no matter their experience.

(Can't wait to finish Bernadette's story! What was the title again? I don't know... I just refer to it as Bernadette now!)