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A poignant coming-of-age novel inspired by martial arts films and family lore about powerful ghost brides

Fatty Wong is a streetwise eleven-year-old in 1960s colonial Hong Kong who dreams of ruling the world. She fights daily for a better life, but in an era of great political turmoil, Fatty faces struggles in the streets of her working-class village—and inside her own home. As the city’s youth begins protesting British rule and local communists mimic the Cultural Revolution that has ignited chaos across mainland China, Fatty grapples with her own desire for freedom and spars with the neighborhood kids to discover her strength through kung fu. She takes a job at a convenience store to carve a space of her own, only to be sexually abused by the owner. Increasingly attuned to the spirit world, Fatty is visited by a neighbor boy who was shot and killed during a riot; his ghost offers to help her escape her anguish if she cares for his grieving mother. Now Fatty must embark on an adventure that will demand she discover her true identity—and raise a fist to anyone attempting to stifle her spirit.