Emily Wu

Wu Maomao was born during the famine of 1958-1962. With her father in a reeducation camp, her mother was forced to let relatives raise her until she was a few years old. Reunited with a family she didn't remember, Maomao grew up sandwiched between two brothers who were favored for being boys. She was an excellent student, but because her father had received his PhD at the University of Chicago, she was continually harassed for belonging to a black (as opposed to red) family. This is the story of her first 19 years: her early years in the city, her family's forced relocation to a remote village, and her years working as an "educated youth" (i.e. middle or high school graduate) in the mountains. It's a brutal story at times, but also a story of family, friendship, and the beauty of rural China. I couldn't put it down.

Be forewarned that the book contains the sexual assault of a child and rape.… (meer)