Margaret Y. (frogslady) - , reviewed on 6/1/2020 + 92 more book reviews

I really enjoyed this book. The author took what she remembered about her childhood and wrote it. She explains in the foreword that she has not tried to keep the episodes in strict chronological order and for that reason it is listed as fiction. Jean Fritz grew up in China, the child of Americans who were working in China before the Communist Revolution. Her father worked for the YMCA. Since this book was based on a particular person's experiences, of course it cannot show the entire culture. However, I felt that I had been given a window on how people lived in China during this particular time. In addition, the frustration of a child who isn't told things in order to be protected by parents clearly shows through. At the end of the book the family returns to the United States and you see the start of the culture shock as she adjusts to the new environment. I would recommend this book highly.

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