Nice blend of using research to find ancestry. A good story line. ( )

Maggie Chen is a high school intern at the local news station, following in the footsteps of her father, who was recently killed in a car accident. when she stumbles upon some of her father's notes and a local politically motivated murder is uncovered, Maggie starts to piece together the coincidences into a big question about who her father really was.

Fai-yi and Sucheng Li, a brother and sister, fled to America in the midst of the Chinese Exclusion Act, when the U.S. began restricting Chinese immigration into the country in the post-gold rush era. they are considered paper children, illegally claimed as the children of Chinese Americans for a fee, allowing them to enter the country. as the two stories are told in alternating chapters, the story begins to unfold and Maggie finally begins to understand who her father was, and who she is.

the writing is clean and simple and the storyline is engaging, making for a quick read. although i didn't find the unfolding of events overly compelling in their presentation, the slight hints of mystery and family saga were enough to keep me reading. the characters were a little on the shallow side, but altogether believable. i think Paper Daughter was good, but not great, though the potential was definitely there. with the family history unfolding in front of this budding journalist, and with loads of cultural and historical significance, this could have been an amazing read. but, instead, it was just good.

in the end, i'm glad i read it, but wish that Ingold had been able to pull it all together into the stunning novel that this could have been. i'd still recommend it to anyone that has an interest in Chinese-American culture. ( )

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Her father would be so proud; at least that's what Maggie Chen hopes. He was a great newspaper reporter, and now Maggie has a coveted intern position at a local newspaper.

It hasn't been a year since Maggie's father, Steven Chen, was killed by a hit and run driver. The story is that he was lost and attempting to find his way home from a reporting assignment. Now, Maggie has a chance to move on and focus on something productive and at the same time follow in her father's reporter footsteps.

Her mother, busy teaching at the local university, thinks Maggie should relax this summer and have fun. She doesn't seem to want to listen as Maggie tells her how much this internship means, and besides, her friends are all off having their own summer experiences and aren't available to hang out. As she heads off for her first day, she hopes this summer will open new doors and help her feel even closer to her father.

The first day on the job doesn't go well, but Maggie is determined to prove herself. Her hard work pays off when she is sent on assignment with another reporter. Together they begin to unravel a mystery at city hall involving the planning commission and a contractor who may have connections to an unsolved murder. The catch is Maggie's father seems to be connected, too.

Author of PAPER DAUGHTER, Jeanette Ingold, creates a story-within-a-story. Maggie Chen is excited to prove herself as a future news reporter, and at the same time readers learn about her father's possible secret past. As the current scandal in city government is uncovered, another mystery makes itself known. ( )

In the summer before her senior year, Maggie Chen decides to take advantage of her opportunity at an internship with the Seattle Herald. Her father, a journalist, has been recently killed by a hit-and-run driver, and Maggie knows how proud he was that she was selected for the internship. She is fortunate enough after only a few days on the job to be involved in a potentially huge story about corruption at city hall involving a local builder.
In addition to her summer job, Maggie is doing her best to help her mother, an English professor, with duties around the house. While cleaning out her father’s office, she finds mysterious notes which, along with clues from his past, lead her to believe that her father may not have been who he said. The mystery of her father and the corruption at city hall seem to be related. Could he have been involved in illegal activities? Did that cause his death?
A secondary story about Fai-yi Li and his sister begins slowly, with their illegal immigration to America, but builds as he begins to become part of the new culture and falls in love. The reader is left to puzzle about how his tale relates to the main story of Maggie. All of the pieces come together nicely, however, in the end.
Maggie is a well-developed character and many teens will relate to her search for her own identity. Fascinating details about Chinese culture also enliven the story. This book will be a hit for readers who enjoy a good mystery. ( )

Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold is a story of family. It follows Maggie Chen, an average high school girl, living an average life until one day, while going through her father's last effects she uncovers a piece of information which sets her world spinning.Coupled with this information is the possibility that her father may have been involved with some shady business. Oh, and did I mention Maggie is interning at the local newspaper? She's totally in for a crazy summer.

I devoured Paper Daughter. It had a slight air of mystery, intermingling with flashbacks from the past, the Chinese Exclusion Act. Pieces of information were dangled in small bits, and I found them to be rather tantalizing. I suppose it was compelling in the way that a scandal is compelling, you just want to know, because of the DRAMZ. (I'm pretty big on dramz, dontcha know)

I wanted to know Maggie's story. I wanted to know where she came from and what the deal with her father was. Maggie, I felt, was courageous, intelligent, and a strong character. Plus, I like seeing YA characters with cars not being shuttled around by the parents. Overall, the cast of characters were well fleshed out. One of the other interns, Jillian, is wicked annoying, but we do find out just why she's so grating, and we see that she's got layers, like an onion, or a ogre. The flashback characters were very intriguing. I loved that subplot, as that is where the pacing was the fastest, plus I'm a bit of a history nerd.

Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold is a short read and perfect if you want to lounge around with a contemporary book on a slow afternoon. ( )