Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party
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Book Overview
The summer of 1972, before I turned nine, danger began knocking on doors all over China.
Nine-year-old Ling has a very happy life. Her parents are both dedicated surgeons at the best hospital in Wuhan, and her father teaches her English as they listen to Voice of America every evening on the radio. But when one of Mao's political officers moves into a room in their apartment, Ling begins to witness the gradual disintegration of her world. In an atmosphere of increasing mistrust and hatred, Ling fears for the safety of her neighbors, and soon, for herself and her family. For the next four years, Ling will suffer more horrors than many people face in a lifetime. Will she be able to grow and blossom under the oppressive rule of Chairman Mao? Or will fighting to survive destroy her spirit--and end her life? Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.Related Subjects
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Customer Reviews
Rated 5 starsBook Review for Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party
"Revolution is Not a Dinner Party" is an exciting page-turner not to be read on an empty stomach (read it and you'll see why)! I had a hard time putting the book down and I have actually learned way more about the Chinese Cultural Revolution from reading the book than I have from my history class. Even though this is supposed to be for `young adults' and is written though the eyes of a young girl, I think that it's a book...
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Rated 5 starsAn Eleven Year Old's Opinion
"Revolution Is Not A Dinner Party" is a wonderful story that relates to Chinese history during the time period of the Cultural Revolution. The story is exciting and has many twists and turns that grab the reader's attention. When I read this book, I did not want to put it down. "Revolution is Not a Dinner Party" is written so vividly and with so much care that this is one of my favorite books that I have ever read. Ying...
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Rated 5 starsRevolution Is Not A Dinner Party Review
Revolution Is Not A Dinner Party is a compelling read that all people must read. A story of hope, strength, and redemption, it kept me in my seat. It only took me an hour to read it, so if you have a little time on your hands, this book is a good option. Ling is a young girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution, a period when Chairman Mao enforced all these rules, rations, and ideas upon the public. He especially...
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Rated 5 starsRevolution is Not A Dinner Party - Maybe not, but it's a heck of a read for the whole family
"Revolution is not a dinner party, . . . A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another." - Mao Zedong. Ying Chang Compestine's title of her first novel is nothing short of brilliant irony. Ms. Compestine, like her protagonist, Ling, survived Mao's Cultural Revolution (a time marked by constant hunger) to become the author of three cookbooks and a recognized authority on Chinese...
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Rated 5 starsMaking the Cultural Revolution accessible to children
I was very impressed by the way Ying captured such a complex time in China's history through a little girl's point of view. Her loss of innocence is exemplified in the ways she boldly allows her head to be shaved. She had slowly given up the comforts that she was used to--meat, heat, radio, water, Mrs. Wang's shirt, her father--but was holding on fiercely to her hair, as if letting go of that meant that she was letting go...
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