01 May / Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine [in Bloomsbury Review]
Best known for her highly entertaining picture books (The Runaway Rice Cake, The Real Story of Stone Soup), Compestine enters the young adult market with a story that draws on her own childhood during the crushing Cultural Revolution in China. As the beloved only child of two doctors in Wuhan, 8-year-old Ling is forced to grow up quickly when one of Mao’s political officers moves in next door, setting off a chain of tragic events Ling must endure and ultimately escape.
Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult
Published: 2008