Jung-ling's family considers her bad luck because her mother died giving birth to her. They discriminate against her & make her feel unwanted yet she yearns & continuously strives for her parents' love. Her stepmother is vindictive & cruel & her father dismissive. Jung-ling grows up to be an academic child with a natural ability for writing. Only her aunt & grandfather offer her any love & kindness. The story is of survival in the light of the mental & physical cruelty of her stepmother & the disloyalty of her siblings. Jung-ling blossoms in spite of everything & the story ends as her father agrees to let her study in Engl&.