Girl Under a Red Moon: Growing Up During China's Cultural Revolution

by Da Chen Narrated by Ewan Chung

Overview

New York Times bestselling author Da Chen weaves a deeply moving account of his resolute older sister and their childhood growing up together during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

In a small village called Yellow Stone, in southeastern China, Sisi is a model sister, daughter, and student. She brews tea for her grandfather in the morning, leads recitations at school as class monitor, and helps care for her youngest brother, Da.

But when students are selected during a school ceremony to join the prestigious Red Guard, Sisi is passed over. Worse, she is shamed for her family's past — they are former landowners who have no place in the new Communist order. Her only escape is to find work at another school, bringing Da along with her. But the siblings find new threats in Bridge Town, too, and Sisi will face choices between family and nation, between safety and justice. With the tide of the Cultural Revolution rising, Sisi must decide if she will swim against the current, or get swept up in the wave.

Bestselling author Da Chen paints a vivid portrait of his older sister and a land thrust into turmoil during the tumultuous Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Editorial Reviews

DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator Ewan Chung tells the story of a girl named Sisi through the eyes of her younger brother, Da. The pair are trying to survive Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China during the 1960s. Since their family used to hold wealth and position, they are now struggling to be accepted in their community and are shamed because the old social structure has been turned on its head. With clear and precise pacing, Chung creates a passionate portrayal of Da and Sisi during intense moments of violence and the humiliation of those they hold dear. Listeners will be moved by this narrative, which reflects a difficult time in China’s history. M.D. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

School Library Journal

09/27/2019

Gr 4–6-During China's Cultural Revolution, being a landowner (or a former landowner, or someone related to one) was a dangerous role with far-reaching consequences. Chen's memoir details many of those consequences through his experiences with his older sister Sisi. After endless torment in school for her heritage, Sisi attempted to end her life by jumping off a cliff. When a neighbor interceded, Sisi was given an opportunity to run away to a farming school in another village even more rural than her own—and brought Da along in the hope of bettering his life, too. What the siblings found at their new school in Bridge Town was hard labor during the day, education in the evening, and protection in Principal Jin, a resistor of Chairman Mao who hoped the remoteness of the village would keep him and his students safe. But the Cultural Revolution came for Bridge Town, too, and with it came tragedy. Chen's memoir brings the Cultural Revolution to life, though readers will have to pay close attention, as some details important to the story are addressed only briefly. VERDICT This memoir of Maoist China will find a deserving place in classrooms alongside Ji-lin Jiang's Red Scarf Girl as a teaching tool of Chinese history.-Katherine Barr, Cameron Village Regional Library, Raleigh, NC

DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator Ewan Chung tells the story of a girl named Sisi through the eyes of her younger brother, Da. The pair are trying to survive Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China during the 1960s. Since their family used to hold wealth and position, they are now struggling to be accepted in their community and are shamed because the old social structure has been turned on its head. With clear and precise pacing, Chung creates a passionate portrayal of Da and Sisi during intense moments of violence and the humiliation of those they hold dear. Listeners will be moved by this narrative, which reflects a difficult time in China’s history. M.D. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173429681
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

Read an Excerpt

Sisi had managed to snatch one red armband. It had fallen to the ground and was a bit damp and smudged with dirt, but it was new and smelling of the yellow ink just printed on the band that read: Red Guard.I am officially guarding the socialist land under the red sun of Chairman Mao, she thought with pride.The frustrated principal stepped forward, adjusted his glasses, and cleared his throat. He informed the students that he was going to read the names of those chosen. If a student's name was not called, they were to give back their red armband.The list wasn't that long, fifty students in all. But from the mouth of the principal, each name was squeezed out slowly, with effort, like a goat discharging pebbly manure. The names of her friends, Li Jun and Hin Ru, were read off, along with other student leaders, but Sisi's name had not been uttered yet.The last name on the list was finally read. It was not Sisi's name.Her heart sank.As the principal came down the steps toward Sisi, her heart rose again. He called out Sisi's name and, taking her hand, led her up onto the stage. With her standing beside him, he declared that they had been making a grave mistake for a long time — the mistake to put the daughter of a disgraced landlord in a position of leadership.He snatched the red band from Sisi's trembling hands and ordered her to leave school and never to return again.Sisi didn't know what to do or think. The words struck her like unexpected thunderbolts. Her heart climbed up into her throat and hot tears trickled down her cheeks.The principal roughly shoved Sisi off the stage. The crowd was utterly silent as Sisi stumbled off the stage and fell. Picking herself up, she slowly began to run along the muddy road, following the three fresh tracks left behind by the chief's vehicle.

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