Message from syamada

Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka is a wonderful book about a bright and headstrong girl named Ailin. Her mother and grandmother force her to start the footbinding process, but Ailin realizes that she’ll never be able to run outdoors and play or chase after the other children in the neighborhood and vows that she will never, never let them do it to her. She tears off the cloth strips and outruns the “amah” or nanny who hobbles after her in her bound feet. Her father, taking Ailin’s side, orders the ladies to stop their attempts. Ailin is relieved but Mrs. Liu, her fiancé’s mother, breaks the engagement to her son and Ailin’s family feels shamed.

Ailin’s view of footbinding is expressed in these words: “Now I finally understood why so many generations of mothers kept the custom of binding their daughters’ feet. They believed that their primary duty in raising a daughter was to have her marry well, and the girl was considered attractive and marriageable only if she had bound feet.” (p. 117)

Ailin’s father dies and her uncle takes charge of the family. One day, she is summoned to his study and is told that the family finances have diminished and she can no longer go to public school. She has only three choices for her future: become a nun, a concubine, or the wife of a tenant farmer. Read the book to find out how Ailin creates her own destiny.

This is an award winning book and recommended for elementary and middle school students, but I think that high school students would enjoy it as well.