Annotation:
Caught up in a tempest of conflicting political, familial loyalties, and moral ambiguity Ji Li Jiang must decide right from wrong during China’s Cultural Revolution. Will she choose loyalty to her family, or loyalty to her country?
Justification for Nomination:
12-year-old Ji Li Jiang wants to help her country’s revolution against capitalism by joining the Junior Red Guard, and helping them rid their community of “The Four Olds.” The Four Olds are: “Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas.” She is quite zealous at first, suggesting ways to rename “Old” store names, with new revolutionary names. She has good reason to, she and her family had supported previous edicts given by their “Beloved Chairman Mao,” And she feels that his most recent revolutionary idea, getting rid of the Four Olds, is by far the most relevant. Until she realizes that her family’s class status is looked down upon in the new order of things.
To back up a bit, for those who don’t know, in the early days of Chinese Communism, Chairman Mao was practically deified by the people, especially so during the Cultural Revolution. Much of the populace followed him and his orders more or less blindly. Many read his famous quotations the “Red Book” as though it were a religious scripture. This is the dangerous power that he held. His goal, as stated in Red Scarf Girl was to elevate the working class, to an equal, or even higher status than those of the upper class. In particular disdain was capitalists, “rightists,” and landlords. Ji Li’s grandfather (who died when her father was 7) was a landlord, which makes her unfit in the eyes of many to participate in the new regime, much to her dismay.
As Ji Li finds out, the class status of her long dead grandfather impacts their family’s status during this reign of terror. Her Grandmother is labeled as a “landlord’s wife,” and her father as a “rightist.” Her class-mates chastise her class status as well, and exclude her from many activities. Ji Li begins to hate her family and class status, but she soon grows to disagree with the Red Guards and Communist system as it begins to impact the people she cares about. Her family’s friends are detained for political reasons; her neighbor’s houses are searched. She soon despises, and fears just about everything going around her, once her house is searched, and her father is eventually jailed as a rightist. Her longing for a normal life has been thwarted by the government and people around her. She is utterly powerless. Taking care of her family makes her a landlord, following the government means she must break ties with her family.
This book has been nominated because it shows the idealism of the young people, but more particularly what happens when that idealism has been corrupted by a absolute power given by the government. Students rebel against teachers, and their parents all in the name of a “higher purpose,” the revolution. All curriculums in the schools have been replaced with subjects of use to the government. It’s also great because Ji Li is caught up in it in the beginning, but even as she participates in the revolution, she feels something is wrong. She does things she doesn’t necessarily agree with to fit in, and support the “crusade,” but as the revolution strikes closer to home she makes a stand of sorts to stand with her family, who truly need her.
Her quest throughout the story is to support the revolution, but as the world around her spirals out of control, and her class status comes into question, her desire is to escape everyone’s notice and to be normal. Her enthusiasm is evident when she sees a “wicked landlord’s” house searched, and the occupant degraded, but this enthusiasm changes to fear, anger, and resentment as the searches target those close to her and eventually her own family. Her identity, and quest to find who she is, is called into question and changed at every step in the story. She ultimately decides that her class status will always be a barrier to being accepted in society, and chooses to remain identified with her family.
Ji Li further takes on adult responsibilities, she takes her grandmother to the doctor, she cares for her younger siblings, she shops for the family’s food, and when her mother falls ill and her father is arrested, she further takes on a more adult introspective process, along with the responsibilities. She also perseveres through uncertainty, solves many problems on her own, and she always attempts to be socially responsible until it conflicts with her family.
This book not only hits many of the teen development areas, but the author does it well. She also shows also shows clearly what happens when a society is turned upside down, when rights are infringed upon, and shows how that can affect a developing person’s decision process. A very well written book, which I cannot find any faults with. The closest thing to a perfect 10 young adult book that I have seen yet.
Justification for Nomination:
12-year-old Ji Li Jiang wants to help her country’s revolution against capitalism by joining the Junior Red Guard, and helping them rid their community of “The Four Olds.” The Four Olds are: “Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas.” She is quite zealous at first, suggesting ways to rename “Old” store names, with new revolutionary names. She has good reason to, she and her family had supported previous edicts given by their “Beloved Chairman Mao,” And she feels that his most recent revolutionary idea, getting rid of the Four Olds, is by far the most relevant. Until she realizes that her family’s class status is looked down upon in the new order of things.
To back up a bit, for those who don’t know, in the early days of Chinese Communism, Chairman Mao was practically deified by the people, especially so during the Cultural Revolution. Much of the populace followed him and his orders more or less blindly. Many read his famous quotations the “Red Book” as though it were a religious scripture. This is the dangerous power that he held. His goal, as stated in Red Scarf Girl was to elevate the working class, to an equal, or even higher status than those of the upper class. In particular disdain was capitalists, “rightists,” and landlords. Ji Li’s grandfather (who died when her father was 7) was a landlord, which makes her unfit in the eyes of many to participate in the new regime, much to her dismay.
As Ji Li finds out, the class status of her long dead grandfather impacts their family’s status during this reign of terror. Her Grandmother is labeled as a “landlord’s wife,” and her father as a “rightist.” Her class-mates chastise her class status as well, and exclude her from many activities. Ji Li begins to hate her family and class status, but she soon grows to disagree with the Red Guards and Communist system as it begins to impact the people she cares about. Her family’s friends are detained for political reasons; her neighbor’s houses are searched. She soon despises, and fears just about everything going around her, once her house is searched, and her father is eventually jailed as a rightist. Her longing for a normal life has been thwarted by the government and people around her. She is utterly powerless. Taking care of her family makes her a landlord, following the government means she must break ties with her family.
This book has been nominated because it shows the idealism of the young people, but more particularly what happens when that idealism has been corrupted by a absolute power given by the government. Students rebel against teachers, and their parents all in the name of a “higher purpose,” the revolution. All curriculums in the schools have been replaced with subjects of use to the government. It’s also great because Ji Li is caught up in it in the beginning, but even as she participates in the revolution, she feels something is wrong. She does things she doesn’t necessarily agree with to fit in, and support the “crusade,” but as the revolution strikes closer to home she makes a stand of sorts to stand with her family, who truly need her.
Her quest throughout the story is to support the revolution, but as the world around her spirals out of control, and her class status comes into question, her desire is to escape everyone’s notice and to be normal. Her enthusiasm is evident when she sees a “wicked landlord’s” house searched, and the occupant degraded, but this enthusiasm changes to fear, anger, and resentment as the searches target those close to her and eventually her own family. Her identity, and quest to find who she is, is called into question and changed at every step in the story. She ultimately decides that her class status will always be a barrier to being accepted in society, and chooses to remain identified with her family.
Ji Li further takes on adult responsibilities, she takes her grandmother to the doctor, she cares for her younger siblings, she shops for the family’s food, and when her mother falls ill and her father is arrested, she further takes on a more adult introspective process, along with the responsibilities. She also perseveres through uncertainty, solves many problems on her own, and she always attempts to be socially responsible until it conflicts with her family.
This book not only hits many of the teen development areas, but the author does it well. She also shows also shows clearly what happens when a society is turned upside down, when rights are infringed upon, and shows how that can affect a developing person’s decision process. A very well written book, which I cannot find any faults with. The closest thing to a perfect 10 young adult book that I have seen yet.
Suggestions for Improvement:
The ending is a little bit abrupt, but the author makes up for it with a great epilogue. It's the author's first book, so this is hardly a matter to pick apart.
Genre: Historical Fact, Autobiography, Multicultural
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