Clare, Red Scarf Girl

#26 a book based on a true story

This book fits into sooooo many of the categorgies. If you are also participating in this challenge and need a #3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, or 26, I highly recommend this amazing book. Ji Li Jiang writes about her experiences as a child during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It's all told from her 12-14 year old perspective as things go from good to bad, from bad to worse, from worse to unbearable. It's the story of a girl who had to grow up too fast trying to help hold her family together and her head high.

I'd never read anything about the Chinese Cultural Revolution. I picked up this book because it reminded me of the girls I taught in China last year. But Ji Li lived in a very different China than I did. Ji Li lived in a scary China wear people disappeared and houses were ransacked looking for "evidence". It was a China where almost everyone was brainwashed by Chairman Mao's propaganda. I used Chinese currency for fifteen months. His face is forever burned into my memory, but I had no idea some of the evils that were done in his name. This book was fascinating, and it opened my eyes to things I never knew about China's history. I'm grateful to Ji Li for sharing her experiences, her life, and her strength.

Stats:

Angie: 4 books

Clare: 5 books

Total: 9 books

#26BOOKSwithBringingUpBurns