The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese Schoolgirl

I loved this story because of Ma Yan's spirit. This is the true story of Ma Yan who stuggles to stay in school in spite of her families severe poverty. She does not give up no matter what obstacles she faces.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am only sorry that more of her diary did not survive. Ma Yan proves herself an articulate young woman. And this book will make you appreciate Americans' access to education and opportunity.

We meet Ma Yan when she's thirteen and in the last year of her primary school. She lives in the dormitory during the week and makes the twelve and a half mile walk home every weekend. Her life revolves around school and the absolute necessity for her to do well, while her very existence is consumed with thoughts of food and constant hunger. Ma Yan's story is of her struggle to survive and break out of this terrible poverty. "How wonderful it would be if I could stay in school forever," says Ma Yan, but in 2001 she knows that will never happen. Life in rural China is hard. In the village of Zhangjiashu, thousands of miles northwest of Beijing, the way out is by getting an education. If a family is able to provide the funds for school, the boys are the lucky recipients. Ma Yan's mother understands her daughter's passionate plea to remain in school. Determined that her daughter have a better life, Ma Yan's thirty-three year old mother sacrifices even more and travels two hundred and fifty miles away to earn the money needed for her daughter to return to school. In many ways, this is as much the story of the mother as it is the daughter. In short daily entries, Ma Yan tells of life in and out of school. Her desperate need to succeed, her emotional upheavals, the intense rivalry between students, the enormous sacrifices made by her parents, and the "cruel life" lived by her octogenarian grandparents pull the reader deeper and deeper into Ma Yan's world and reveal an ordinary girl living a life few of us can imagine. Although this is essentially a young adult book, the story has the power to capture the imagination of adults. In my humble opinion, Ma Yan's Diary should be mandatory reading for all.

I enjoyed this book, though it is painful to read about the poverty and hunger Ma Yan and her family experienced. As mom to a daughter from China, I can't help but wonder if my daughter's life would have been similar, had she not been adopted. This book was also very hopeful, as Ma Yan's diary brings her some fame and brings world attention and help to her family and schoolmates.

Ma Yan is 13 years old and is told by her mother that she needs to leave school and work in the fields to pay for the education of her two younger brothers. But Ma Yan dreams of getting an education to pull her family out of the desperate poverty that they suffer every day. In this book we follow her diary through ages 12 and 13 as she struggles with going to school in miserable conditions with never enough food to eat, desperately trying to succeed against all odds. But her fate catches up with her when she is 13 years old, as her family can no longer afford to send her to school. She is destined for a hard life working in the fields...until a miracle occurs. This heart-wrenching journal full of courage and determination is a must-read for all girls who have dreams of their own. Our whole family enjoyed this book, especially our 12-year-old daughter!