Whenever I chance upon reading historical fiction, and the story is centered on a woman's plight, it gives me a sense of honor to read a special kind of bravery and steadfastness in the midst of oppression or chaos. This is because most of the historical fiction I read has a basis in the lives led by women during the most uncertain times, and that somehow, at some point, it is a reflection of the life led by all women of that era. It's not always a picture of gentle days and idyllic time, because even in the years past when women were revered, as there were also women in history who were abused, undermined, traded as a commodity, beaten, and treated in a most unjust and unfair manner just for being who they are. The Story: In this book, All The Flowers In Shanghai by Duncan Jepson , it is a moving display of bravery and will to keep one's head above tumultuous waters by a 17-year-old girl. She was swept off the quiet world she knew and unable to fight against the o...