Nine Days Fred Hiatt
Fred Hiatt's "Nine Days" is a jewel of a book. It seamlessly blends several genres, featuring a tightly-drawn adventure, a budding romance and a dead-serious discourse about China's history, culture and political repression, practiced by the Chinese Communist government.
The structure of the plot is well-sketched and quickly engages the reader. Ti-Anna Chen's father, a famous Chinese dissident living in exile in the United States, disappears during a visit to Hong Kong, where he was expected to meet with Chinese dissidents. Ti-Anna's mother and other adults seem powerless to do anything. And so, the teenagers take the initiative.
Ti-Anna, accompanied by her high-school friend, Ethan Wynkoop, embarks on a journey to find her father and rescue him. They travel first to Hong Kong, retrace Chen's footsteps and are eventually steered to Hanoi. There, they run afoul of a sex trafficking ring and discover that Ti-Anna's father was kidnapped by Chinese security agents and is now imprisoned in China.
While the action is fast-paced, the adventures are believable. The characters are strongly drawn, and the voices, particularly of Ethan Wynkoop, who functions as the main narrator, are both compelling and authentic. The portrayals of Hong Kong and Hanoi - of its streets, foods and people - are vivid and colorful. Be warned, the book may turn many readers into noodle aficionados. The budding romance between Ti-Anna and Ethan is portrayed sparingly and tastefully and meshes well with the narrative.
The book's authenticity stems in part from the fact that it builds upon a true story of Ti-Anna Chen's real-life counterpart, Ti-Anna Wang, whose father, Wang Bingzhang, was kidnapped by the Chinese government during a trip to Vietnam, where he went to meet with Chinese dissidents. It also helps a great deal that the author is able to infuse skillfully, through Ethan's narrator voice, a wealth of information about China's culture and political history into both the plot and character development.
This fascinating adventure tale is oriented at young adults and, with any luck, will spark interest in them about the real-life dramatic issues that populate today's newspaper headlines. But, even if you don't have a teenager in your house, consider reading the book for yourself. It is a guilty pleasure and well worth it.
This book is a real page-turner. Compelling characters, both American and Asian. It captures the feel of Hong Kong. The pacing is exciting - would make a great movie.
BalasHapusFred Hiatt's "Nine Days" is a jewel of a book. It seamlessly blends several genres, featuring a tightly-drawn adventure, a budding romance and a dead-serious discourse about China's history, culture and political repression, practiced by the Chinese Communist government.
BalasHapusThe structure of the plot is well-sketched and quickly engages the reader. Ti-Anna Chen's father, a famous Chinese dissident living in exile in the United States, disappears during a visit to Hong Kong, where he was expected to meet with Chinese dissidents. Ti-Anna's mother and other adults seem powerless to do anything. And so, the teenagers take the initiative.
Ti-Anna, accompanied by her high-school friend, Ethan Wynkoop, embarks on a journey to find her father and rescue him. They travel first to Hong Kong, retrace Chen's footsteps and are eventually steered to Hanoi. There, they run afoul of a sex trafficking ring and discover that Ti-Anna's father was kidnapped by Chinese security agents and is now imprisoned in China.
While the action is fast-paced, the adventures are believable. The characters are strongly drawn, and the voices, particularly of Ethan Wynkoop, who functions as the main narrator, are both compelling and authentic. The portrayals of Hong Kong and Hanoi - of its streets, foods and people - are vivid and colorful. Be warned, the book may turn many readers into noodle aficionados. The budding romance between Ti-Anna and Ethan is portrayed sparingly and tastefully and meshes well with the narrative.
The book's authenticity stems in part from the fact that it builds upon a true story of Ti-Anna Chen's real-life counterpart, Ti-Anna Wang, whose father, Wang Bingzhang, was kidnapped by the Chinese government during a trip to Vietnam, where he went to meet with Chinese dissidents. It also helps a great deal that the author is able to infuse skillfully, through Ethan's narrator voice, a wealth of information about China's culture and political history into both the plot and character development.
This fascinating adventure tale is oriented at young adults and, with any luck, will spark interest in them about the real-life dramatic issues that populate today's newspaper headlines. But, even if you don't have a teenager in your house, consider reading the book for yourself. It is a guilty pleasure and well worth it.
I cannot tell you how happy I was to find this book. My husband and I are the book grandparents. We did fine until our granddaughters turned 12. They're excellent readers but it's been really hard finding books for them that are somewhere between the "Horace and his detective friend, the Giant Polar Bear" type of book (too young, though it claims to be for 12 year olds) and the profanity-laden books filled with teenaged sex (which claim to be for 12 and up). This book is perfect for that awkward age between these two genres. Smart (teaches about China and Hong Kong), interesting (a rites of passage story about a boy and girl running away to rescue the girls' dissident father). I can't wait to send this to the granddaughters and hope that Hiatt will write another one -- and soon! Thank you, Fred Hiatt!
BalasHapus
BalasHapusThis book is engaging on all levels. A perfect suck-you-in beach or airplane read. I don't believe it should be labelled for teenagers although certainly could be read by them. Following two young people on travels from my hometown Washington D.C. to China on a mission that is exciting, emotionally moving and politically charged is a great recipe for a terrific book. When I found out it was based loosely on a true story it was even more inspiring. It is definitely worth reading.
BalasHapusThis is a great story, using a fast-paced teenage adventure to cast light on important issues - the democracy movement in China and human trafficking. The author draws authentic pictures of Hong Kong and Vietnam that give you a real taste of those places. The voice of Ethan (the narrator) is captivating. Can't recommend this highly enough.
BalasHapus