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

Ma Yan (Author), Pierre Haski (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Wednesday, November 7

My father gave me and my brother a little money. My stomach is all twisted up with hunger, but I don't want to spend the money on anything as frivolous as food. Because it's money my parents earn with their sweat and blood.

I have to study well so that I won't ever again be tortured by hunger. . . .

In a drought-stricken corner of rural China, an education can be the difference between a life of crushing poverty and the chance for a better future. But money is scarce, and the low wages paid for backbreaking work aren't always enough to pay school fees.

Ma Yan's heart-wrenching, honest diary chronicles her struggle to escape hardship and bring prosperity to her family through her persistent, sometimes desperate, attempts to continue her schooling.

First published in France in 2002, the diary of ma yan created an outpouring of support for this courageous teenager and others like her -- support that led to the creation of an international organization dedicated to helping these children . . . all because of one ordinary girl's extraordinary diary.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–In 2001, while a French journalist was visiting remote Ningxia province in northwest China, a Muslim woman wearing the white headscarf of the Hui people thrust the diaries of her daughter into his hands. The three small notebooks described the girl's struggle to get an education despite extreme poverty. Each week Ma Yan and her younger brothers walked seven miles to school where they stayed until Friday night when they returned home. Often their only food was a small bowl of rice at midday. Only occasionally did they have a bit of money to buy some vegetables in the market or to catch a tractor ride home for the weekend. Ma Yan studied hard, but she did not feel successful unless she was number one in her class. When she didn't rank first, she was berated by her mother and made to feel guilty for her lack of effort. Her parents worked constantly to make a better life for their children, farming their own fields, harvesting crops for others, and collecting the plant fa cai from the steppes north of their home. The girl's feelings for her mother were powerful and complex, and she alternated between overwhelming love and rage at the injustices she suffered. While this book will not hold the interest of average readers because of its overly didactic tone, it does paint a vivid portrait of the daily life of a child in a part of the world seldom visited.–Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. "I want to go to school, Mother. . . . How wonderful it would be if I could go to school forever!" Thirteen-year-old Ma Yan, a peasant in the drought-scarred province of Ningxia, China, evidently scrawled this message in frustration at having to work in the fields. According to a preface, Ma Yan's mother passed her daughter's plea to visiting French journalist Haski, along with journals documenting about nine months of Ma Yan's life. Haski published them in France and established a charity to assist similarly impoverished Ningxia students, to which Ma Yan has since promised 25 percent of her royalties. Some adults may be troubled by the diary's odd provenance and the purposeful annotations framing Ma Yan's rather meandering reflections. Nonetheless, the affecting story, extended with photos of Ma Yan and her family, will push readers to a new understanding of the hardscrabble existence endured by many, even as her brooding reflections ("My moods go up and down") underscore how much teens everywhere have in common. Some captions and photos not seen. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Collins; Tra edition (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060764961
• ISBN-13: 978-0060764968
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #820,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Diary of Ma Yan, September 16, 2005

By 

Lynn Lieberman "AFineLyne" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese Schoolgirl (Hardcover)

I came to find out about this book by listening to an NPR interview of the French journalist who originally was given the diaries by Ma Yan's Mother. His interview was so moving that I ordered the book from Amazon. Ma Yan was writing about her life in a village where no foreigners had been in more then 60 years. I have since given this book as a gift to several girls and boys of Ma Yan's age (12-13-14) so that they can read first hand what it's like for kids their age in a remote part of our World.
This book is a lesson for all ages. Well worth reading.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible and Unforgettable!, August 8, 2005

By 

blbooks "Becky" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese Schoolgirl (Hardcover)

The DIARY OF MA YAN is an incredible story of how one girl's determination, diligence, and hope impacted not only her life...but the lives of those around her.

Ma Yan is a young girl determined to continue her education despite the hardships and struggles that ensue. Knowing that an education is the only thing that could rescue her from a life of poverty, Ma Yan continues her fight to stay in school. Her resilience is inspiring.

The book contains Ma Yan's diary entries from September - December 2000 and July - December 2001. The entries are brief and from the heart. She writes of poverty, hunger, frustration, desire for an education, and hope for a better future for herself and her family.

When Ma Yan's mother gave her daughter's diaries to a foreign journalist--it paved the way for an incredible outpouring of love and financial support--not only for Ma Yan but for other poverty-stricken children in China as well with the establishment of the Association for the Children of Ningxia which has helped over thirty children.

It is a wonderfully honest book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, January 9, 2007

By 

Pamela A "Red Thread Mom" (Manalapan, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese Schoolgirl (Hardcover)

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.