Excerpt from China Dolls by Lisa See, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Ruby beamed. "Better."

"Much better!" Grace agreed.

Over the next half hour, girls in the first, second, and third lines did their routines twice and then were either chosen for the next round or dismissed. Those who looked sweet and dainty made it through, even if they hadn't mastered all the moves. A feeling hovered over the room: If you aren't pretty, then it doesn't matter how talented you are. When our line was called, Grace reminded me to smile, and count in my mind, and not with my lips. (Only problem: I'd been taught never to show my teeth. If I had to smile, then I should cover my mouth with a demure hand.) Ruby told me to relax. (Aiya! Like that would be possible.) But as the music played, I saw myself by a pond with weeping willows dripping their tendrils in the water, cranes flying across the sky, and soft fingers on my cheek. Ruby's advice was working. We did the routine twice, and then Mr. Biggerstaff told us to come to the front of the stage. He spoke quietly with Charlie, Li Tei Ming, and Eddie Wu, and then asked me to step forward.

"What kind of legs do you have?"

The question took me aback. I glanced at Ruby and Grace, who gave me encouraging nods. I lifted my wool skirt to just above my knees.

"Higher, please."

I edged the skirt up my thighs. When I'd woken in my bed this morning, I never thought I'd end up here, doing this.

"Perfect!" Mr. Biggerstaff proclaimed. "I hoped you might have something useful under there."

Ruby, Grace, and I made it through to the next round. Ruby squealed and hugged Grace and me. (I wasn't raised to be touched so freely, not even by family members, but I was brave about it.) Of the forty or so girls who started out that morning, fifteen made it to the next round for the eight dancers needed.

"Thanks so much for trying out and better luck next time," Charlie addressed those who'd been cut. "The girls who've made it, congratulations. We'll be auditioning again tomorrow and the day after that for additional ponies. On Monday, we'll all meet here again. We're going to see if we can teach you to do a simple tap routine. If you have tap shoes, bring them. If you don't, then I'm afraid you're done here. Oh, and you'll be singing too. That's it for today. Monday then."

"One last thing," Eddie Wu called out. "You, the babe with the gardenias in your hair. I like them. The smell is intoxicating. I'm drunk on you."

Li Tei Ming playfully swatted the back of Eddie's head, Ruby waved him off as though men spoke to her like that all the time, and the other girls in the room covered their mouths to hide their giggles. But I understood what he meant. She had a similar effect on me— as though I'd been sipping mao tai from thimble- size porcelain cups at a wedding banquet.

Grace and I clambered downstairs behind the still- glowing Ruby and out onto the street. We were so different from one another, and we could have easily broken apart right then. I could have gone back to the Chinese Telephone Exchange to meet my brother to take me home; Grace could have gone back to her hotel; and Ruby could have gone back to wherever it was she came from. One of us needed to speak. An act of kindness had started me on this road this morning; an act of kindness from Grace now propelled us forward on this new journey.

"I'm guessing you haven't learned how to tap, and you don't own a pair of tap shoes either," she ventured. "What if we take you to buy proper shoes?"

"That would be great— "

"As long as we're shopping," Ruby cut in, "we should get you some dance clothes too. You look more like an old widow than a chorus girl. I want to have an entourage when I'm famous, but you've got to dress the part."

Excerpted from China Dolls by Lisa See. Copyright © 2014 by Lisa See. Excerpted by permission of Random House. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.