Please note: This is a pre-order and will be sent at the beginning of July 2025.
Our June 2025 Book Box for Change was made possible thanks to the generous support of our partners.
This box includes:
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A paperback copy of When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin, donated by Hachette Australia.
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Handmade rope ring dish, donated by AnnaGleeDesigns.
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A bespoke orchid bookmark, handmade by SamsBookedOut.
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Two bookplates, donated by Wild Hearts Bookshop.
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A teabag with inspirational quote, donated by Inspirational Tea Co.
About When Sleeping Women Wake
Hong Kong, 1941. Following the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, the wealthy Tang family flee to Hong Kong, believing it to be protected under British occupation. As the First Wife of the family, Mingzhu leads a sheltered - if lonely - existence overseeing her daughter Qiang's education, resisting the hostility of her husband's concubine, while managing the household alongside her devoted maid, Biyu.
But when the Japanese army invade, the three women are scattered. Though Mingzhu's affinity for languages spares her from physical labour, she is coerced into working for a Japanese captain. Qiang and Biyu escape the island, only to be forced into factory work, until an encounter with the East River Column Resistance fighters separates them once more. The longer the brutal occupation lasts, the more determined the women are to resist.
And as war rages around the world, each is holding onto the hope that the other is alive.
