Sophie Chen Keller joins Carol Fitzgerald to talk about her latest novel, LITTLE WONDER, which was published by Jenna Bush Hager's imprint, Thousand Voices. It is an Oprah's Book Club pick and a Bookreporter Bets On selection. Song, a migrant worker, and her 11-year-old piano prodigy son, River, are separated in a massive crowd at a Beijing train station on the busiest travel day of the year. The story follows both characters over the years as they search for each other while building separate lives.

Sophie describes LITTLE WONDER as being about motherhood, music, and the love between a mother and a child. She shares that she was born in rural northeastern China, was raised in the US, lived in Beijing, and is now residing in Germany. Her own experiences as a mother and a pianist deeply informed the novel. Carol and Sophie's conversation also touches on themes of longing, stage fright, social inequality in China, and the COVID-19 pandemic as portrayed in the book.

And yes, Sophie explains what she was doing when she got the call from Oprah. The interview that Oprah taped with Sophie was her first real exposure to reader reactions. She found the audience's questions to be surprising and insightful as they made connections she had not anticipated.

Our Latest "Bookreporter Talks To" Interviews:

Ben Reeves: https://youtu.be/Jsr5c3WQPuQ

Rachel Beanland: https://youtu.be/6Piw8q7pGkc

Lisa Scottolin: https://youtu.be/9MsfXILFZ_Y

John Searles: https://youtu.be/LA2gXPoc_zk

Jenny Jackson: https://youtu.be/V116A5eBBBE

Beatriz Williams: https://youtu.be/d554V2bGHSQ

Lori Foster: https://youtu.be/C2xlNPgKjm0

Lisa See: https://youtu.be/5UpTJ_YAnxE

Our Latest "Bookaccino Live" Book Group Events:

Bruce Holsinger: https://youtu.be/wwQjtlPePBQ

Wally Lamb: https://youtu.be/-eMtMznKoVE