Red Scarf Girl : A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

Twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has brains, friends, and a bright future. Then Mao Zedong launches China’s infamous Cultural Revolution. Soon school is suspended and students are getting caught up in the fervor of Mao’s extreme politics. When Ji-li’s family is accused of capitalist crimes, all of her beautiful dreams burst like soap bubbles. Because Ji-li’s grandfather was a landlord, her family is harassed and humiliated. Their home is searched, and they live in constant fear. Nonetheless, Ji-li remains loyal to her beloved Chairman Mao and endeavors to "reform her ideology". But with her father’s detention, Ji-li is faced with the most difficult choice of her life.Told with simple grace, this is the true story of a family’s courage in one of the most terrifying eras of modern history. Christina Moore’s moving narration makes the Jiang family’s saga unforgettable. Publishers Weekly Best Book • ALA Best Book for Young Adults • ALA Notable Children's Book • ALA Booklist Editors'ChoiceMoving, honest, and deeply personal, Red Scarf Girl is the incredible true story of one girl's courage and determination during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century. It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, popularity, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. And when Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life.Written in an accessible and engaging style, this page-turning autobiography will appeal to readers of all ages, and it includes a detailed glossary and a pronunciation guide.

In 1966 Ji-li Jiang turned twelve. An outstanding student and leader, she had everything: brains, the admiration of her peers, and a bright future in China's Communist Party. But that year China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launched the Cultural Revolution, and everything changed. Over the next few years Ji-li and her family were humiliated and scorned by former friends, neighbors, and co-workers. They lived in constant terror of arrest. Finally, with the detention of her father, Ji-li faced the most difficult choice of her life.

Told with simplicity and grace, this is the true story of one family's courage and determination during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century.

Ages 11+

when China's Communist Party Detained Ji-li's Father, The 12-year-old Was Faced With The Most Difficult Choice Of Her Life. She Could Denounce Her Father And Break With Her Family, Or She Could Refuse To Testify And Sacrifice Her Future In Her Beloved Communist Party.

nien Chang

ji-li's Deeply Moving Story Should Be On The Shelf Of Every Person's Library. He4r Courage In The Face Of Adversity And Her Steadfast Loyalty And Love For Her Family Are Truly Inspirational For Young And Old Alike.

An outstanding student and much admired leader of her class, Ji-Li Jiang was poised for a shining future in the Communist party until the Cultural Revolution of 1966. Told with simplicity, innocence and grace, this unforgettable memoir gives a child's eye view of a terrifying time in 20th-century history--and of one family's indomitable courage under fire. ALA 1998 Notable Children's Book; ALA 1998 Best Books for Young Adults. The author tells about the happy life she led in China up until she was twelve-years-old when her family became a target of the Cultural Revolution, and discusses the choice she had to make between denouncing her father and breaking with her family, or refusing to speak against him and losing her future in the Communist Party. A twelve year old girl's memoir of her struggles and sacrifices during the Cultural Revolution in China and of her loyalty and love for her family Chairman Mao, our beloved leader, smiled down at us from his place above the blackboard.