The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Joy Luck Club is a group of Chinese women who banded together as they navigated a new country, coming together to share their life experiences and help one another through new ones. After one of the members passes away, her daughter June is invited to be a member in her mother’s spot. Upon her first meeting, June is greeted with a truth from her mother’s friends that she wasn’t prepared for: she must go to China to meet her twin half-sisters, the very sisters her mother believed had died long ago before she fled the country. In preparation, the women tell June of their past experiences in China and moving to America. Their daughters also provide stories to June about their relationships with their mothers and how their stories have impacted their relationships.

Tan creates a fantastic collection of stories woven together to make this novel a piece of art. Each story holds heartache and tragedy, but also strength and triumph! This is a coming of age story, a celebration of life, experience, and love between mothers and daughters.