Revolution is not a Dinner Party

Revolution is not a Dinner Party  By Ying Chang Compestine

***** 4/5 stars  Historical Fiction

The first sentence of this book is, "The summer of 1972, before I turned nine, danger began knocking on doors all over China." That sentence describes the whole book pretty well. Ling lives in China during the Cultural Revolution. The Revolution threatens Ling and her family's lives but they try to survive and avoid danger under the harsh rule of Chairman Mao.

            This book reminds me of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas , a story about a very naive boy growing up in World War II. Ling is very naive and isn't sure what is going on in parts of the book. This book also reminds me of North Korea. During the Cultural Revolution, China was very similar to North Korea in many ways.  They respected their leader in the same way, a lot of the people were starving, and the police could barge into someone's house at any time.

            Throughout this book, Ling overcomes challenges and hardships. She surprises the reader with strength that is unexpected in someone so small.