Young adult literature doesn’t have to mean high schools and love stories. The genre can also transport student readers to unfamiliar worlds, which is the case with Ji-li Jiang’s Red Scarf Girl.
As a junior high student during China’s Cultural Revolution, Ji-li finds herself torn between loyalty to Chairman Mao and love for her family (which bears a black mark because Ji-li’s grandfather was a landowner). Ji-li and her family endure humiliation, abuse, and punishment at the hands of friends, neighbors, and party officials.
Red Scarf Girl provides a personal introduction to an important chapter in Chinese history.
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