Ji-li Jiang writes of a terrible time in the history of China. Everyone was brainwashed by Mao's greatness that the Chinese began to change the way they thought, dressed, acted and were educated, and if they didn't, they were marked as Four Olds and were humiliated in front of their family and friends by teen red guards. Four Olds are customs that are viewed as being from before the revolution. Mao's philosophy was in with the new, and out with the old. All of the customs that before the revolution were tossed out. Her family went from a success story to being blamed for a grandfather being a landlord which was considered the worst, their furniture and their cloths was taken. Also, their father was arrested and they were questioned as enemies. It was a sobering and scary story by a wonderful, bright, intelligent girl who chose to stand by her family and not renounce them. Ji-li Jiang was a brave young girl that had the power to protect her family.
The book was very well written. As a reader, I was really able to connect with Ji-Li Jiang and her struggles through this time in China. It was easy to understand how Ji-Li Jiang felt throughout the entire book. It really gave me a sense of what what the Chinese culture was like after the cultural revolution. However, the book stopped very abruptly, there were still a few loose ends that never got tied together. Despite this lack of a good ending, the book was an ok read. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in this time in China.
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