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    The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel
    The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel
    The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel

    Written by Lisa See

    Narrated by Ruthie Ann Miles, Kimiko Glenn, Alex Allwine and

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, “one of those special writers capable of delivering both poetry and plot” (The New York Times Book Review), a moving novel about tradition, tea farming, and the bonds between mothers and daughters.

    In their remote mountain village, Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. For the Akha people, ensconced in ritual and routine, life goes on as it has for generations—until a stranger appears at the village gate in a jeep, the first automobile any of the villagers has ever seen.

    The stranger’s arrival marks the first entrance of the modern world in the lives of the Akha people. Slowly, Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, begins to reject the customs that shaped her early life. When she has a baby out of wedlock—conceived with a man her parents consider a poor choice—she rejects the tradition that would compel her to give the child over to be killed, and instead leaves her, wrapped in a blanket with a tea cake tucked in its folds, near an orphanage in a nearby city.

    As Li-yan comes into herself, leaving her insular village for an education, a business, and city life, her daughter, Haley, is raised in California by loving adoptive parents. Despite her privileged childhood, Haley wonders about her origins. Across the ocean Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. Over the course of years, each searches for meaning in the study of Pu’er, the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for centuries.

    A powerful story about circumstances, culture, and distance, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane paints an unforgettable portrait of a little known region and its people and celebrates the bond of family.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 21, 2017
    ISBN9781508226543
    Author

    Lisa See

    Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, Shanghai Girls, China Dolls, and Dreams of Joy, which debuted at #1. She is also the author of On Gold Mountain, which tells the story of her Chinese American family’s settlement in Los Angeles. See was the recipient of the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Association of Southern California and the Historymaker’s Award from the Chinese American Museum. She was also named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women.

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    Reviews for The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

    4.5/5

    1,007 ratings99 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A great audio recording. I loved this book by Lisa See. best on the speed of 1.5

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great book! I love that the book showed the different sides of the stories. It kept surprising me with every new event. I definitely recommend reading it!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Beautiful. Learned a lot. Interesting read for children who are adopted.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Beautiful story! Could not stop reading it. Highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written. You can visualize the scenery and feel the love of a mother
    • 5/5
      Such an amazing story! I will carry this story with me for the rest of my life.
    • 5/5
      If you enjoy international historical fiction about China, this is a fantastic book to read. The writer has always written such impelling stories based on fact. Excellent read.
    • 4/5
      More like 3 and a half stars. I liked it, the tea history and info was fun. The ending was a little abrupt and lacked a real emotional pop. All in all though it was a good story worth the listen.
    • 5/5
      As an American woman who adopted two daughters from China, I found this book extremely touching. To write so profoundly about the complex perspectives of a birth family and an adoptive family was much appreciated and very well done. Thank You!!
    • 5/5
      Learned so much about tea and so so loved this story. I look forward to more books by Lisa See. Great writer. Well read!
    • 5/5
      Such a great listen!! Love her work, this one really had such a great storyline and complex characters. I found myself choking up several times during the book. Very moving, bravo.
    • 5/5
      A great story of love, hardship, and cultural Asian differences!
    • 5/5
      Wonderful and graceful narration. First book I've deeply enjoyed in some time. My only complaint is now, I'm so invested in these characters that I want more.
    • 5/5
      This book was so well researched and detailed in the Chinese cultures. There’s always an educational element when reading Lisa See. Like her other books, the characters are well developed and incredibly intertwined! I LOVED the ending.
    • 5/5
      A most wonderful book! It started slow and I wasn't sure I wanted to continue to listen. I am so glad I did listen. This book was so full of Chinese history, culture and the people. I did not want it to end.
    • 5/5
      Mother’s and Daughter’s love . Awesome story to hear about
    • 5/5
      Lovely story on par with "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". I just wish there were more breaks in the chapters because with 6 HUGE ones it's hard to rewind back to a spot you may not have heard.
    • 5/5
      Lisa See delivers big time, once again! ! ! !
    • 5/5
      What an amazing journey through time and cultures! Very emotional and interesting. Bravo!!!
    • 5/5
      Fabulous book. It connects you to the world of the Akha, the origin of tea and a story of love and human suffering. With so much depth and detail... Simply loved it.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book. So well written. Loved the characters and narrators
    • 5/5
      Knocked my socks off! So beautifully fascinating, heartwarming, and eye- opening! Pulled me into so many different worlds: ethnic Chinese world, small village world, tea world, communist China world, adoption world. Blown away and every other relatable cliche!
    • 4/5
      Book was a little slow but left me in goose bumps.
    • 5/5
      Well written, with perfect balance; authenticity of history, twists & turns of interpersonal relationships and the plot.
    • 5/5
      I highly recommend reading, great story. Very well written, good narration
    • 5/5
      A gripping story about a world far removed from mine. I love the way the author married up the lives of so many. Great story.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book very much… I didn’t like how it ended however! I was angry and disappointed it was just pooooffff done.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful! Engaging, fascinating. So we’ll written and researched. Current resonance
    • 5/5
      A beautiful story of China hill tribe people back in the 1990’s and how Pur tea became so famous. Very much enjoyed this story.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed listening to this book. I was a bit sad when I knew I was close to the end. It took me on a journey to the mountains, green hills, tons of vegetation in China. I wished the end explained more. However, I get it.