Living Treasures

A law student gets a second chance A Chinese woman law student defies the one-child policy to bestow the gift of life upon a rural family while saving a baby panda. A story of passion and conviction set in the mountains of rural China, Living Treasures celebrates the value of life and nature. This debut novel told from a unique perspective gives insight into the Chinese way of life as well as modern thinking and issues.

"The characters are thoughtfully well rounded, the plot lines are true to life" -Library Journal

"A deeply human and sympathetic portrait of people living as best they can in an imperfect society" -Foreword Reviews

"A knotty, engaging novel of China's recent history" -Kirkus

"As with her previous books, Living Treasures and My Old Faithful, Huang...explores the generational push-pull of family life in post-Tiananmen China." -The New York Times Book Review

"The personal and the political merge in Yang Huang's debut novel about a college student in post-Cultural Revolution China. Gu Bao negotiates the shifting landscape of a country still struggling toward modernity, as China's education system, family planning policies and the deaths of her fellow students in Tiananmen Square sometimes push her to desperate measures. The story moves from city life to the rural home of Bao's grandparents, acquiring an epic feel in a compact length." -San Jose Mercury News

"The use of metaphor and symbolism is strong throughout the story, with many images of babies, mothers, and the visceral realities of life and survival. The theme of women's bodies not always being their own is prominent." -School Library Journal

"The novel offers an incisive fictional account of the perils of Chinese motherhood in all of its contemporary manifestations." -Stephen Sohn, Asian American Literature Fans