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

I dropped one of the nickels back into the coin purse.

"So you're familiar with the clubs," I said. Every boy was curious about the forbidden, and my comment set off all three boys.

"They're barely better than bars— "

"No one wants them in the neighborhood— "

"My dad says they're just a rat's hair above a speakeasy— "

I dropped another nickel into my coin purse.

"You win, lady," the ringleader conceded. "You want to work in a big- thigh show, that's your headache."

"Big- thigh show?"

"Don't you know anything?" he asked. "You really want to let people see your legs?"

As long as it's just my legs . . .

"Please tell me where to go," I said.

I waited while he exchanged looks with his buddies. All I needed was one name to give me a start.

At last, he said, "Wilbert Wong has the Li Po— a cocktail lounge on the next block. He's changing it into more of a club. Andy Wong— not related— runs the Chinese Penthouse. It opened last December with all- Chinese entertainment."

He rattled this off like a town booster. This place was turning out to be a lot more like Plain City than it looked on the surface: a small town, where everyone knew everyone else's business, especially when it came to the taboo.

"I heard Andy Wong is going to change the name to the Sky Room," the smallest boy ventured, which earned him an elbow to the ribs.

"There's Charlie Low's new club. It's not even open yet," the oldest boy continued. "Two years ago, he opened a bar here on Grant Avenue. No Chinese girls or women allowed. What am I saying? No Chinese went, period!"

"How would you know?" I asked, challenging him.

"I know," he responded.

Any boy could spout off about the birds and the bees— and other naughty things— but he often got the details wrong. It would now be up to me to figure out how much of what this little boy said was accurate and how much was gobbledygook picked up from listening to the whispers of older kids.

"Charlie Low's wife is a singer," he continued, "and he's giving her a showplace called the Forbidden City. It's on Sutter Street— "

"Not even in Chinatown," the smallest boy interrupted again. That appealed to me, because Chinatown was too scary for me.

"Can you point the way?" I asked.

"First, you go . . ."

His voice trailed off, and his eyes widened. The other two boys stared gape-mouthed at something over my shoulder. I turned to see what they were ogling and saw a girl about my age gingerly step off the curb and come toward us. She wore a practical outfit: a gray wool pleated skirt, a long- sleeved black sweater, charcoal- gray wool stockings, and oxfords. She was Chinese, with flawless porcelain skin. She looked rich, like out of a movie, except that I'd never seen a Chinese who looked like her in the darkness of the Rialto.

"I know how to get to the Forbidden City," she said in melodious voice. "I'll take you."

Although Joe and the man on Treasure Island had both been perfectly nice to me, I wasn't accustomed to kindness. Now here was a girl, offering to help, as if magically sent. I glanced down at the boys, trying to get a sense of what I should do.

"She's Helen Fong," the ringleader said in awe. "If she wants to help you, let her!"

The other two boys, acting their young ages at last, covered their mouths and giggled. The girl named Helen gave them an unyielding look, and they went quiet but fast.

"Kew, Chuen, Yee, I don't think your mothers will be too happy to hear you aren't in school," she observed coolly. "You'd better hurry along now."

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.