--- product_id: 40532507 title: "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel" price: "$37.37" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/40532507-the-tea-girl-of-hummingbird-lane-a-novel store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # Deep cultural & ethnic insight Authentic tea culture immersion First edition collectible The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel **Price:** $37.37 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🍵 Sip the story that connects generations and cultures — don’t miss this literary gem! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** $37.37 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/40532507-the-tea-girl-of-hummingbird-lane-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **A Story That Resonates:** Celebrate resilience, sacrifice, and new beginnings in a novel praised for its emotional depth and cultural authenticity. - • **A First Edition Treasure:** Own a pristine first edition with a fine dust jacket—perfect for collectors and literary connoisseurs. - • **Bestselling Literary Acclaim:** From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, ranked top 30 in Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature. - • **Culturally Rich Storytelling:** Dive into a powerful narrative exploring Chinese ethnic minorities, adoption, and the mother-daughter bond across continents. - • **Journey Through Tea & Tradition:** Experience the rich, authentic world of the Akha people and the ancient art of tea cultivation and brewing. ## Overview The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is a first edition novel by bestselling author Lisa See that explores the life of Li-yan, a Chinese mother from the Akha ethnic minority, and her daughter adopted by an American family. Richly detailed with authentic tea culture and deep cultural insights, this novel blends tradition, family bonds, and modern challenges, earning high acclaim and a strong bestseller ranking. ## Description A thrilling new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa See explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been adopted by an American couple. Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. There is ritual and routine, and it has been ever thus for generations. Then one day a jeep appears at the village gate—the first automobile any of them have seen—and a stranger arrives. In this remote Yunnan village, the stranger finds the rare tea he has been seeking and a reticent Akha people. In her biggest seller, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, See introduced the Yao people to her readers. Here she shares the customs of another Chinese ethnic minority, the Akha, whose world will soon change . Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, translates for the stranger and is among the first to reject the rules that have shaped her existence. When she has a baby outside of wedlock, rather than stand by tradition, she wraps her daughter in a blanket, with a tea cake hidden in her swaddling, and abandons her in the nearest city. After mother and daughter have gone their separate ways, Li-yan slowly emerges from the security and insularity of her village to encounter modern life while Haley grows up a privileged and well-loved California girl. Despite Haley’s happy home life, she wonders about her origins; and Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. They both search for and find answers in the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for generations. A powerful story about a family, separated by circumstances, culture, and distance, Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane paints an unforgettable portrait of a little known region and its people and celebrates the bond that connects mothers and daughters. Review: Beautifully written and compelling - Li-Yan lives in the Spring Well Village, one of the many villages of the Akha people. Akha people, are one of the many ethnic tribes of people who live in the Yunnan province of China. Li-Yan falls in love with classmate Sen-pa from the Shelter Shadow Village but their parents do not approve of the marriage. Li-Yan finds out she is pregnant with his child. Because it's taboo to have a child unmarried, Li-Yan end up abandoning her daughter at an orphanage with a tea cake instead of following tradition to kill the child. Her daughter, Haley, ends up being adopted by an American couple in California. Both Li-Yan and Haley is curious about each other and they hope to find answers about each other. A-ma can be very strict about things in the family but because Li-Yan is her only daughter, she tries to help Li-Yan during the pregnancy and conceal it from the family since its taboo to be pregnant when unmarried. Li-Yan had to give up her dream to past an exam to go to college but she wanted to make sure can provide a good life for her child. Her sacrifice for many things has helped her daughter obtain a better life. Although her life is a constant struggle, Li-Yan is able to relocate away from her Akha home to a trade school in Kunming to start off with a clean slate. The mother and daughter relationships are vital in the novel just like how the special ancient tea grove is passed down the family from mother to daughter. The women in The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane are strong women; they are resilient. Lisa See's The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is beautifully written and it's compelling. Her narration is that of a well versed storyteller. She educates readers about the traditions and culture of the Ahka people. I found it very interesting to learn more about the Ahka people and See did her research well. The art of tea is explained exquistely throughout the book. I am a huge tea lover so I found it fascinating to read. Cultivating tea to brewing tea is very complex and tea aficionados will enjoy reading about the history of tea, especially of Pu'er. Through tea Li-Yan is connected to her family roots and most importantly to her daughter. The yellow threads in the tea cakes bring the family together. The novel is mostly in first person through Li-Yan's perspective. See starts the novel off with Li-Yan being about 10 and ends the novel when Li-Yan is in her mid to late 30s. Through letters and support group dialogue, readers peer into Haley's life and how she is doing. Although heartbreaking at times, See has captured the spirit of what it means to be a daughter and a mother. While Li-Yan is separated from her daughter, she yearns for her every day. Haley always thinks about her birth mother and the tea cake. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is a story about tradition, culture, family, love, loss, sacrifice, perseverance, new beginnings and origins. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is by far my favorite novel by See and it makes a wonderful reading companion to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I highly recommend this novel. Review: See is the best in the genre but the rags-to-riches storyline is a lost opportunity - I have read all of Lisa See’s books and am an ardent fan. I traveled frequently to Hong Kong as an American businessman in the 80s, when the harbor was still filled with junks, and was in the first wave of foreign businessmen allowed onto the Chinese mainland. I ultimately lived and worked in China for nine years and have since read all of the Chinese fiction I can get my hands on. No other author that I have found appreciates and understands the nuances of Chinese culture as deeply as See. This book certainly meets her standard on that front but is admittedly not my favorite. It’s like tea, I guess; a matter of personal taste. There is an awful lot about tea, for sure. It is, in my experience, far more information than the average Chinese person could provide, but the storyline is built around it so that is not a criticism from me. It didn’t strike me as a book about tea as other readers obviously felt. This is the first time in my memory that See has tackled a protagonist from one of the 55 minority ethnic groups and that was a bold challenge that I thought she handled superbly. Truly understanding how the minority groups and the Han majority fit into the Chinese tapestry is a challenge for any Westerner, but I thought See brought her usual sensitivity and insight to the task. She also tackles the issues faced by Chinese orphans brought to the US as babies. My company in China actually sponsored a local orphanage and I gained quite a bit of insight into that unique slice of modern China. See does a very good job of characterizing the challenges that exist within China, but even though I have a Chinese wife (Dongbei Han), I have never fully appreciated what happens to these babies after they leave China. And I am thankful for See’s insight on that. Another huge literary challenge that she handled extremely well. My only reservation about the book is that while the rags-to-riches storyline, with a lot of pain along the way, is a modern Chinese story, it is an extremely rare one statistically. (Less rare in Southern California.) I’m not so much concerned with reinforcing false stereotypes, and I don’t think of it as a discredit to my friends and family who don’t fit that stereotype, as much as a lost opportunity. See is an extremely gifted storyteller with an uncanny insight into Chinese culture. I guess I would rather she leave the rags-to-riches storylines to others less gifted with her talent so that she can continue to give us more of what makes her so special as an author. ## Features - the latest acclaimed novel by best selling Lisa See, a fine first edition with dust fine dust jacket. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #87,897 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #27 in Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature (Books) #124 in Family Saga Fiction #535 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 20,419 Reviews | ## Images ![The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81l1vhaad5L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautifully written and compelling *by N***S on March 21, 2017* Li-Yan lives in the Spring Well Village, one of the many villages of the Akha people. Akha people, are one of the many ethnic tribes of people who live in the Yunnan province of China. Li-Yan falls in love with classmate Sen-pa from the Shelter Shadow Village but their parents do not approve of the marriage. Li-Yan finds out she is pregnant with his child. Because it's taboo to have a child unmarried, Li-Yan end up abandoning her daughter at an orphanage with a tea cake instead of following tradition to kill the child. Her daughter, Haley, ends up being adopted by an American couple in California. Both Li-Yan and Haley is curious about each other and they hope to find answers about each other. A-ma can be very strict about things in the family but because Li-Yan is her only daughter, she tries to help Li-Yan during the pregnancy and conceal it from the family since its taboo to be pregnant when unmarried. Li-Yan had to give up her dream to past an exam to go to college but she wanted to make sure can provide a good life for her child. Her sacrifice for many things has helped her daughter obtain a better life. Although her life is a constant struggle, Li-Yan is able to relocate away from her Akha home to a trade school in Kunming to start off with a clean slate. The mother and daughter relationships are vital in the novel just like how the special ancient tea grove is passed down the family from mother to daughter. The women in The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane are strong women; they are resilient. Lisa See's The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is beautifully written and it's compelling. Her narration is that of a well versed storyteller. She educates readers about the traditions and culture of the Ahka people. I found it very interesting to learn more about the Ahka people and See did her research well. The art of tea is explained exquistely throughout the book. I am a huge tea lover so I found it fascinating to read. Cultivating tea to brewing tea is very complex and tea aficionados will enjoy reading about the history of tea, especially of Pu'er. Through tea Li-Yan is connected to her family roots and most importantly to her daughter. The yellow threads in the tea cakes bring the family together. The novel is mostly in first person through Li-Yan's perspective. See starts the novel off with Li-Yan being about 10 and ends the novel when Li-Yan is in her mid to late 30s. Through letters and support group dialogue, readers peer into Haley's life and how she is doing. Although heartbreaking at times, See has captured the spirit of what it means to be a daughter and a mother. While Li-Yan is separated from her daughter, she yearns for her every day. Haley always thinks about her birth mother and the tea cake. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is a story about tradition, culture, family, love, loss, sacrifice, perseverance, new beginnings and origins. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is by far my favorite novel by See and it makes a wonderful reading companion to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I highly recommend this novel. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ See is the best in the genre but the rags-to-riches storyline is a lost opportunity *by G***R on April 9, 2018* I have read all of Lisa See’s books and am an ardent fan. I traveled frequently to Hong Kong as an American businessman in the 80s, when the harbor was still filled with junks, and was in the first wave of foreign businessmen allowed onto the Chinese mainland. I ultimately lived and worked in China for nine years and have since read all of the Chinese fiction I can get my hands on. No other author that I have found appreciates and understands the nuances of Chinese culture as deeply as See. This book certainly meets her standard on that front but is admittedly not my favorite. It’s like tea, I guess; a matter of personal taste. There is an awful lot about tea, for sure. It is, in my experience, far more information than the average Chinese person could provide, but the storyline is built around it so that is not a criticism from me. It didn’t strike me as a book about tea as other readers obviously felt. This is the first time in my memory that See has tackled a protagonist from one of the 55 minority ethnic groups and that was a bold challenge that I thought she handled superbly. Truly understanding how the minority groups and the Han majority fit into the Chinese tapestry is a challenge for any Westerner, but I thought See brought her usual sensitivity and insight to the task. She also tackles the issues faced by Chinese orphans brought to the US as babies. My company in China actually sponsored a local orphanage and I gained quite a bit of insight into that unique slice of modern China. See does a very good job of characterizing the challenges that exist within China, but even though I have a Chinese wife (Dongbei Han), I have never fully appreciated what happens to these babies after they leave China. And I am thankful for See’s insight on that. Another huge literary challenge that she handled extremely well. My only reservation about the book is that while the rags-to-riches storyline, with a lot of pain along the way, is a modern Chinese story, it is an extremely rare one statistically. (Less rare in Southern California.) I’m not so much concerned with reinforcing false stereotypes, and I don’t think of it as a discredit to my friends and family who don’t fit that stereotype, as much as a lost opportunity. See is an extremely gifted storyteller with an uncanny insight into Chinese culture. I guess I would rather she leave the rags-to-riches storylines to others less gifted with her talent so that she can continue to give us more of what makes her so special as an author. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Exceptional Book -- But Needs One More Chapter -- A Closer! *by R***E on May 17, 2026* A fascinating, wonderful book about the primitive, 20th century tea industry in the mountains of China. A baby born out of wedlock in a tea-growing village is immediately abandoned by mother at an orphanage and the years-long search by Mom to find baby and baby to find Mom begins. It's a page-turner that will teach you more about the tea industry than you ever thought possible. Plus the development of the major characters through the decades is exceptionally written. No spoilers here. You'll love this book even though, as my title suggests, it begs for one more ending chapter or an epilogue. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel - The Island of Sea Women: A Novel - Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/40532507-the-tea-girl-of-hummingbird-lane-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.us/products/40532507-the-tea-girl-of-hummingbird-lane-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-08-14*