Each of the chapters with Lindo and Waverly Jong displays different aspects of the two's mother-daughter relationship. Themes of cultural differences and parental expectations are shown as each woman describes their lives and the hardships they both dealt with alone and with each other. The cultural differences between the two create a barrier where one doesn't understand the other fully, and doesn't know how to communicate to achieve understanding. Lindo's expectations of Waverly to be the best and to accept only the best make an even larger rift between the two and causes some alienation between Waverly and her mother. In Lindo's early life, she was forced into an arranged marriage at a very young age. After many months living with her abusive mother-in-law, she used her wits to escape from her husband and his family. Growing up in this situation, she was raised to obey her elders and do as they wish. Even after moving to America, she struggled to adapt to the change in culture and traditions, as can be seen in her temporary reluctance to get with her Cantonese husband. However, she learned to embrace some American traditions in order to thrive, and encouraged her children to do the same, whilst still carrying some Chinese customs.
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Being raised by Lindo, Waverly grew up under the impression that she had to be the absolute best to please her mother. When she started participating in chess tournaments, her mother pushed her to not only win, but to win better than anyone else. Lindo boasted Waverly's skills as if they were her own, further cementing the idea that Waverly had to overachieve to gain her mother's approval. This in turn caused her to rebel, estranging the two. When Waverly was going to get married, she was anxious to tell her mother, afraid that she would not approve of her fiance, since he wasn't Chinese. However, despite the cultural differences, Lindo saw that he cared, and her acceptance of him brought Lindo and Waverly closer together.