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

"I accept, but you'll have to let me buy you dinner in return," I offered, figuring neither of them had much money or would know where to eat even if they did.

"Sure!" Ruby answered a little too eagerly. "Shall we go?"

I shook my head. "I can't right now. First I need to go back to where I met Grace this morning. I work near there. My brother always picks me up and takes me home."

Ruby gave me a sideways look, trying to figure me out. "You need your brother to take you home?" she asked. "How old are you?"

"Twenty," I answered.

"I'm nineteen, and I walk wherever I want to walk," she said.

"But if I walk from one end of Chinatown to the other unescorted," I explained, "the grapevine will have sent out word before I get halfway there. Once someone saw me eating cherries on the street. Why did I get in trouble? Because it wasn't ladylike for me to eat on the street. Mama and Baba always say I have to guard my reputation like a piece of jade. Otherwise"— how did I get going on this path?— "who will marry me?" I managed to finish.

"Who wants to get married?" Ruby hooted.

Grace dissolved into giggles. I made myself giggle too, but the sound was bitter in my ears. Neither of the other girls noticed.

"My brother picks me up at five," I said. "Will you wait with me?" What was I thinking? Monroe would be taken aback to see me with two outsiders, to say the least. Nothing to do about it now. We walked into Chinatown. Immediately, I felt eyes on me. At last it occurred to me that someone might have already told my father I hadn't shown up for work today. Nothing to do about that now either. I wanted to push the boundaries. I wanted to see if he'd actually notice me . . . and, if he did, do something about it.

The three of us sat on the curb outside the telephone exchange— our knees pressed together, getting to know each other, and discussing what songs to pick for the next round of auditions. This was a new experience for me, at once exhilarating and sickening. A sudden panicked desire to run home and shut the door to my room nearly overwhelmed me. The cage that usually held me came as much from deep inside me as it did from my father. But when I saw Monroe approaching, his strength gave me courage. He wore his usual outfit: dungarees, a T-shirt, and a blue college jacket with cal written in script on the left breast. I knew the effect he had on girls with his smooth skin, wide eyes, and longish black hair that brushed across his forehead. Ruby would never have a chance, but Grace might do. What would it be like to have someone like Grace live in the compound with us? I let that idea flitter across my mind. I smiled as I rose to my feet. Ruby and Grace got up too.

"Monroe, I want you to meet my new friends. Grace, Ruby." I tugged on my brother's arm. "This is Monroe."

I could read the concern on his face as he stared at the two strangers, especially Ruby.

"Monroe," I went on in a pleading voice, "can you give me another couple of hours? Grace and Ruby are going to take me shopping." "I'm not sure about this, Helen," he said.

"Please?"

"What'll I tell our ba?" he asked.

"Tell him I had to stay late at work— "

"But you aren't at work— "

"Then I'll take the blame."

He glanced warily from Ruby to Grace. He took his responsibility as my older brother very seriously.

"Please, Monroe, please?" I begged as hard as when I was five and he had a bag of sesame candies I wanted him to share.

It was his duty to watch out for me, but he loved me too. More important, Grace seemed to have caught his eye, just as I'd hoped. He'd want to impress her with his openness.

"You promise she'll be safe?" he asked, his voice demanding truth. "Absolutely," the two girls replied in unison.

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.