A Yellow House

It took me quite awhile to become interested in A Yellow House.  I did not know what the book was about before I began reading and could not see any plot.  All I saw was a whiny child protagonist with no friends who hated her life. After realizing that the book was about migrant domestic workers I became more interested in the story.  I believe, however, that the first third of the book could have been paced more quickly.

The publisher's summary:

"Ten-year-old Singaporean Maya is lonely:  her grandmother is dead, her mother is focused on her career and her best friend has become a bully.  When Aunty M, a domestic worker from Indonesia, joins the family to take care of Maya and her baby sister, Maya is ready to hate her. Aunty M smiles a lot, but says little.  However, after Aunty M rescues a fellow maid living in the same building and beaten by her employer, Maya discovers a side of Singapore hitherto unknown to her.  She and Aunty M grow closer as they meet more and more women in need. What will happen when Mama finds out about Maya and Aunty M's growing involvement with the aunties?  Will Maya lose Aunty M too?  After all, Mama did say she hates busybodies. This poignant coming-of-age story, told in the voice of the inquisitive Maya, explores the plight of migrant domestic workers in Singapore and the relationships they form with the families they work for."

Women will enjoy reading this sisterhood novel.  Almost all of the characters are female. Maya's father is the only man in the book and his role is limited. Maya's interest in the domestic workers was a hard sell for me. At first, I thought she was only interested in their stories because she was bored and had nothing else to do. Later it becomes clear that she is beginning to form opinions about the world. 

I am unsure what to think about the writing. In the beginning of the story many characters are being introduced with no serious connection with Maya. There wasn't much plot movement but this is a character driven novel. Unfortunately, that was not evident to me until the midway point and it affected my view of the book.  I did, however, expect a mystery of some sort to be solved. There is no mystery here. The author's intention in writing this novel was to highlight the lives of the workers.  Her bio states that she grew up as an expat child in Asia with migrant domestic workers hired to take care of her.  She did not realize at the time that these women left their home countries to work for her family.  Later in life she asked why and in 2012 she joined a charity that supports these workers in Singapore.  The stories that she heard were the inspiration for this book.  

3 out of 5 stars.