A Chinese teenager's saga immigrating from Eastern China to Italy...A sensitive writer, Ma expertly channels the yearning and base desires of her subjects through intimate conversation and cultural analysis in a narrative full of genuine compassion and appreciation. A genial, informative chronicle of the hopes and dreams of a Chinese immigrant. (Kirkus Reviews) Meet Me In Venice tells of the courage, hardships, and dreams of a new generation of Chinese who are leaving their homeland to seek fortune and opportunity in faraway lands. Suzanne Ma brings beautiful writing, compassion, and humor to the story of seventeen-year-old Ye Pei, who journeys to Italy to pursue her dreams of success and independence—and along the way, to make a perfect cup of cappuccino. Ranging from the language schools of Qingtian to the mushroom farms and garment factories of Italy, Ma illuminates the contours of Chinese immigrant lives that are at once crucial to the global economy and invisible to the outside world. (Leslie T. Chang, author of Factory Girls, former China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal) At a time when China’s global reach is increasingly apparent, Suzanne Ma has crafted a fascinating and human portrait of what life is like for young Chinese migrants in Europe. Ma, who reports extensively in both Italy and China, has a wonderful eye for detail. She sits in on a Chinese cooking class called ‘Exit the Country,’ and she notes that a small city known for out-migration has posted huge ‘Welcome’ signs in five languages—but nothing that says ‘Farewell.’ This is a book for anybody who knows what it’s like to leave home. (Peter Hessler, New Yorker staff writer, author of River Town and Oracle Bones) Suzanne Ma has written a perfect little jewel of a book that gets beyond the vague big picture and into specific communities and real lives, richly rewarding us by opening wide a fascinating door into the world of Chinese emigration. (Howard W. French, author of China's Second Continent, former New York Times Shanghai bureau chief) Meet Me in Venice is a remarkable book, a reverse Marco Polo journey in which a dutiful Chinese teenager goes to Italy, not to find herself, but to support her immigrant parents' elusive goal of one day opening up their own business. This is a tale of hope and heartache. It is also an unforgettable glimpse into one of the fundamental yearnings of our age, the all-too-human desire for a better life. (Jan Wong, journalist and author of Red China Blues) The work of award-winning journalist Suzanne Ma has appeared in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Associated Press, The Huffington Post, and Salon, among others. She has crisscrossed the globe, filing stories from cities across Europe, Canada, China, and the United States, where she was a reporter in New York City for the Associated Press and DNAinfo, a digital news start-up. A graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Suzanne was awarded the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship, which helped fund her fieldwork in China for her first book, Meet Me in Venice. Suzanne and her husband live in Vancouver, Canada.