The Red Scarf Girl

Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, this book touched my heart. My daughter is reading it for a history course she is taking this year called Key of Liberty. I always pre-read any books my daughters are assigned as part of a course. I had never heard of this book or Ji Li Jiang. But I am SO glad I have read it now. I knew surface stories about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, but had never studied it. This book made me cry. I cried for Ji Li, I cried for the Jiang family, I cried for the children & families put through this, I cried for China and I cried for the history and culture they lost/destroyed during this time. Jiang does an excellent job of showing you the horror of the Cultural Revolution from a child's eyes, but does it in a way that I do not mind my 12-year-old daughter reading this book. It does not have graphic portrayals of grotesque violence (though I know that happened during the revolution, too). Definitely an excellent read. One I seriously encourage for those that have never realized just how precious the freedoms we enjoy in America are and take them for granted.

My two favorite quotes:
"This is the most frightening lesson of the Cultural Revolution: Without a sound legal system, a small group or even a single person can take control of an entire country. This is as true now as it was then."

"My family was too precious to forget, and too rare to replace."



Kindle Edition: Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

The Dragon Box

The Dragon Box by Katie W. Stewart
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Okay, so this book is about a game that the main character, James, goes inside of. But is it just a game?

Was this book bad? Not really. But was it any good? Not really. The writing was childish, the storyline too obvious, the humor tried to hard, and the characters were flat. I could maybe see a young boy enjoying this as a quick read, but that's about it. I will say that it was a very clean story, nothing I'd be worried about my kids reading.