This book is based on the author's own family. In the book, Ning is living in China with her mother and their servant. She is half Chinese and her father, an American, has left. Unfortunately, being half American means she isn't really accepted in China. She does not have her feet bound as other girls do and is pretty much understood that no one will ever marry her. So her mother sends for her father and asks that he take her to America. Instead, he sends her to America to live with her parents. At first she experiences a lot of prejudice - even from her step-grandmother but in time they all make adjustments. The title comes from the pagoda that her grandfather has painted on the side of their barn and the name of their farm after that.
As a piece of historical fiction based on actual events this was eye opening. It was not necessarily my favorite read but could fill an empty spot in historical fiction collections about the time period and Chinese American relationships.
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