[.ca] Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution (ISBN 0064462080)

The Cultural Revolution -- a review by Charlie, age 10:
Red Scarf Girl is about a memory of the Cultural Revolution. Ji-li Jiang is the main character. She also has a brother called Ji-yong Jiang and a little sister called Ji-yuong Jiang. She has a friend, An-Yi, who often helps her when she has a problem. Ji-li Jiang had a rich family. Being rich in China at that time could cause families to be separated. It could cause families who were rich five months ago to have to live in a cottage working on a farm, getting whipped by the farmers who owe the land they're working in. It could even cause them to be killed! Ji-li is aware of all of this, and is trying to keep her family safe. This is not a fiction book -- it is a memory about what Ji-li Jiang thought about the Cultural Revolution. You might think that this book is a girl book; but it's really about how people lived in the Cultural Revolution. If you like humor, this is not the book you're looking for -- it has a little humor in it, but it really is a sad story. Nothing goes well in the story. All the cliffhangers keep the reader in the story to see what happens next. Not all chapters end with cliffhangers, but sometimes there is a cliffhanger in the middle of a page which make the reader read a lot faster to see what happens to the person or what happens next. This book is a really detailed story about how people lived during the Cultural Revolution.

Simple language tells a striking story.:
While it's true that this is a book I probably would not have read if I didn't do it for school, I am very glad to have read it. The book is written with very simple language, thus is easy to read, although the themes and story inside the language are much more adult, much deeper. Ji-Li relates to us only a snippet of her childhood, from age 12 to 14. We see how her school life, family life, and personal life are all torn apart by the Cultural Revolution, all the while witnessing the great respect and reverence given to Mao Ze Dong, even while wrongdoings are done in his name. This book chronicles a struggle of identity and loyalty in a world where speaking your mind openly is not tolerated and the occupation of your grandfather affects your entire future. This book is a nice read, and provides insight into a little-known area of history, at least here in the West.

Mao's Reign Exposed Through a Child's Eyes:
Ji-li opens up to the world what her suffering meant to her in her childhood. Her bravery held her up through the beginning of communism in her country. Red Guards (supporters of the Cultural Revolution) roamed the streets, ransacked homes, beat teachers, and took Ji-li's father to "detention". The pain of Ji-li flows through the book. The before admiration of her peers went to hate. The bright future as a Red Guard becomes dark. Ji-li's hopes and dreams fall from automatic judgment and ancestry. Ji-li's story is devastating but her determination in Mao's dark world is inspiring.

Interesting:
This is a wonderful book that drew me in. I really felt for Ji-Li Jiang, the main character. I read it when I was in elementary school and didn't know anything about the Cultural Revolution. It educated me and I also liked how realistic it was (that's because it is a true story) and how Ji-Li agreed with communism, and it took a long time for her to realize how wrong it was even though she herself suffered a lot. It's not five stars though. It's a good book and I can't find anything wrong with it, but I've read better and it's not one of my favorite books. But I still highly recommend it.

A Must Read!:
Having spent several years of my childhood in Hong Kong, I've had an ongoing interest in Chinese culture and history. When I read this book, I felt that this was a book I wanted to share with everyone. Red Scarf Girl gives us a window into the life of a girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution - a time of great upheaval in China. Having read "Life and Death in Shanghai," by Nien Ching, several years earlier, I had already been given an excellent perspective of what it must have been like to live through this period as an adult. Now, I was fascinated to see the years of the revolution detailed through the eyes of a young girl who was trying not just to survive, but to rationalise, accept, and believe in what she saw happening around her. This is a very moving account and I believe that anyone could benefit from reading it unless they are determined not to let that happen.