Lensey Namioka

Ties That Bind, Ties That Break Lensey Namioka

Winner of the YALSA Best Book Award

Not quite five years old in 1911 -- a time of revolution and transformation in China -- Third Sister Ailin rebels against the torturous tradition of foot binding. She feels no remorse when this causes the family of her intended husband to break the marriage agreement. But as she enters adolescence, Ailin realizes for the first time how powerless a girl of good family with no prospect of marriage is in Chinese society.

For ages 12 and up.