Shining Star

Review
By Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup

Paula Yoo has written a fascinating, inspiring, thoroughly engaging account of Anna’s life. . . . Yoo’s well paced, seamless narrative informs with just the right amount of interesting detail and pathos. While examining the notion of ‘cultural stereotype,’ which hinges on fear, suspicion, ignorance, and misconception, Yoo also emphasizes how Wong struggled on many fronts — pursuing her career despite parental objection, accepting demeaning roles in order to make a living, and coming to terms with her own identity. . . . Lin Wang, a classically trained portrait artist, has brought this compelling narrative to life with luminous, ravishing watercolor and acrylic illustrations. The spreads are lush and rich, echoing the grandeur of movie sets. The likeness to the real Anna May is startling and mesmerizing; she is often clad in intensely emotional tones of deep red, plum, orchid, or pumpkin, and the last spread of her sitting at a table with her striped jacket and floral hat is simply gorgeous. . . . Like Paula Yoo’s excellent PB biography of Sammy Lee, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds, this one is a must-have for home and library collections. —Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup