The Downstairs Girl

The Downstairs Girl (2019) is a work of young adult (YA) historical fiction by Stacey Lee. The unusual coming-of-age story features 17-year-old Jo Kuan, a Chinese American girl trying to assert her identity in the context of racist and gender-based biases in 1890s Atlanta. Jo’s life is turned upside down when she decides to moonlight as a secret advice column writer, while working as a lady’s maid by day. Dispensing radical and witty advice that creates ripples, Jo also embarks on a journey to save her adoptive father from Atlanta’s most notorious criminal and to unearth the secrets of her true parentage. In the process, she finds love and support from unexpected quarters. The Downstairs Girl became a New York Times bestseller within weeks of its release in 2019 and was the Reese's Book Club Late Summer 2021 YA pick. The author, Stacey Lee, has also authored Under a Painted Sky (2016) and Outrun the Moon (2016). A fourth-generation Chinese American and a founding member of the We Need Diverse Books movement, Lee often writes about those on the margins of society.

This study uses the Piatkus Books (Little Brown) 2019 paperback edition.