The Laundryman's Boy by Edward Y. C. Lee

Fall 1913, St. Catharines, Ont. Thirteen-year-old Hoi Wing Woo, the son of a scholar, is forced to give up his dreams of an education when he is sent to work in a Chinese laundry in Canada.

Hoi Wing is immediately thrust into relentless, mind-numbing toil, washing clothes by hand for sixteen hours a day, six days a week. Isolated and friendless, he falls into despair.

When he meets Heather, an Irish scullery maid who shares his love of books, Hoi Wing's life immediately brightens. Together, they escape the drudgery of their work by reading novels in a secret hideout. As their friendship grows, they defy the restrictions of their servitude and embark on a plan to better their lives.

But Hoi Wing's dreams will not go unchallenged. Jonathan Braddock, a wealthy and influential entrepreneur who heads the Asiatic Exclusion League, has decided to run for mayor. If Braddock is elected, Hoi Wing will be sent back to China.

The Laundryman's Boyis a moving coming-of-age story that bravely examines notions of race, duty and friendship in early Canada.(From HaperCollins)

Edward Y. C. Lee was born in Montreal and now lives with his wife and daughter in Toronto. His writing has been published in literary magazines and publications like the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. The Laundryman's Boy is his first novel.