   
The Mirror of Karma and The 4 Sisters
A story about karma and 4 sisters with the same mother:
1. The Big Sister, Gi-Gi Chen, born in China, came to USA at age 22
2. The 2nd Sister, Lily Kong, unwanted child born in Hong Kong, victim of the one-child policy
3. The 3rd Sister, Mei-Ling Kong, unwanted child born in China, victim of the one-child policy
4. The baby sister, Mimi King, born in Panama, the only one who is a mixed blood
Story background: The practice of the two-child policy was in place during the mid 70s in China. Based on Chinese tradition, the failure to have a son was a betrayal of their ancestors. Lotus gave birth to 3 daughters, in a row. In order to keep the last birth quota for a son, she reluctantly and secretly gave away her second and third daughter for adoption, and finally had a son. In 1982, Lotus divorced her husband and immigrated to Panama with her remaining daughter, Gi-Gi. Lotus then married an American Engineer in 1986, and gave birth to Mimi. The family relocated to Los Angeles in 1995. Seven years later in 2002, Gi-Gi and Mimi met a fortune-teller, and with the use of a magic mirror discovered Lotus’ secret, hidden for over 20 years. The second and third daughter, Lily and Mei-Ling, finally met their biological mother. Lily, who was tortured in China and Hong Kong, hated mom for abandoning her, and blamed mom for her bad luck…what happened? Who’s to blame?
Reviews
By Todd Rutherford (The Publishing Guru) www.GettingBookReviews.com
Alicia Hou’s The Mirror of Karma and the 4 Sisters is highly entertaining; yet touching with its family drama that has two sisters pitted against each other as mortal enemies. Throughout the story, the girls’ late grandmother lovingly provides moral lessons to her grandchildren, even long after her death.
This drama is full of twists and turns that will keep readers fully engaged, and there are strong messages as well, that encourage readers to “believe in karma because what you give is what you’ll get in return.” Reminiscent of the Joy Luck Club, this tale teaches a number of moral lessons, including never to steal another woman’s husband, never to be greedy, never to intentionally hurt anyone, and to refrain from all immoral activity. One overall important message that this book conveys is the value of adopting a forgiving and an accepting spirit regarding oneself and others.
The story begins in 2002, recounting the birth of the oldest of the four sisters, Gi-Gi Chen. The sisters are separated for a time, but are later reunited in the U.S., where a love triangle of magnanimous proportions occurs between two women who do not realize that they are actually sisters. Mei-Ling is sweet, caring, and obedient, while Lily Kong is out for whatever she can get, even if it means marrying a man just to reach America. Once in the United States, Lily leaves her husband, Nicky, in search of more wealth. As fate would have it, Mei-Ling becomes involved with Nicky—and the love triangle begins. The truth about Mei-Ling and Lily’s relationship as sisters only becomes known in 2002 when a fortuneteller uses the Mirror of Karma to unveil the truth of their lineage.
The fiery Lily is intent on suing her little sister, while the considerate Mei-Ling attempts to make peace after the truth of their relationship is uncovered. Hou’s use of strong dialogue and scenes are portrayed extensively during the dramatic courtroom trial.
This is especially exemplified when Mei-Ling reminds Lily that they are sisters and asks if they could just sit and talk. Lily heatedly replies, “You stole my husband! How dare you come to see me? I am suing you. I’ll see you in court. If you want to talk, talk to my lawyer.”
Hou does a fine job of developing her characters, keeping the reader enthralled with detailed character descriptions and plot progression. The author provides ample guidance for the reader amid the constant activity of the plot. Overall, The Mirror of Karma and the 4 Sisters is a splendid story that is full of mystery, suspense, and moral lessons that will keep readers turning pages to the very end.
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By J. C. Rodriguez
Los Angeles, CA
I am a 50+ years old man and I studied karma many years ago and this book proves what I learned is true. Let's only talk about Lily and Mei-Ling, the 2 sisters that were abandoned right after birth, they are both victims of the one-child policy, born in different places, have different personalities, but mistakenly, married to the same man (the ABC Nicky Chong) and end up fighting in the court. The fiery Lily only knows to continous creating bad "seeds" (doing bad things=planting bad seeds), while the obedient Mei-Ling knows how to stop and how to solve the problem. God is watching all of us, at the end, Lily collects the bad fruits that she planted. What a good ending. This book reminds me of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, it is full of life lessons and deserves a 5 stars. The illustrations of each main characters help a lot too. Love this book. Will pass it to my daughters.
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By Sue C. (A Sad Mother)
Los Angeles, CA
I read this book in google previews. The drawings are so cute. There are several stories in this book and I must say the cutest one is Mimi King's story. She is 16, just like any other young girl at her age, full of energy, curious about love and sex, and ready to commit mistakes. Miraculously, one night she had a dream talking to her grandmother who told her, "Keep your virginity until marriage and you will have good luck for the rest of your life...However, a little kissing or holding hand with a guy is okay... " Isn't that cute and lovely? What a good grandmother! I wish I had told my daughter the same thing when she was 16, unfortunately, it is too late now, because she got pregnant at age 17 and had a miserable life. I recommend this book to all the young girls out there. I am a 44 years old mother.
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Photo of Alicia Hou
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