The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang

A muizai is a mistress’s shadow, there to do her bidding . . .

In nineteenth-century China, tightly bound feet, or “golden lilies,” are the mark of an honorable woman. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that her golden lilies will someday lead her out of a life of slavery.

Not only does Little Flower have bound feet—uncommon for a muizai—but she is gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with women of fortune. Resentful of these talents, Linjing does everything in her power to keep Little Flower under her thumb. But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, a strict group of women who make their way in life by weaving silk. Little Flower suddenly sees a path to freedom through her skill when she catches the eye of a nobleman. But there is a huge risk: the Sisterhood punishes disobedience with death. And if Linjing finds out, will she use this knowledge to reclaim her power over Little Flower, or will she protect her?

Richly atmospheric and profoundly moving, The Lotus Shoes is an empowering tale of two women from opposite sides of society and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph.