In the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War, two girls, one in Mao’s China and one in Kuomintang-ruled Taiwan, find their lives intertwined.
It’s 1958 in Mao’s China and eleven-year-old Shan is an outcast, facing constant persecution because her parents fought against the communist troops during the revolution and then fled. With no access to education and few prospects for the future, she wonders if she and her grandparents will forever be marked as traitors.
Nine-year-old Lihui has lived in Taiwan all her life, but she knows it’s not home. The adults in her life constantly remind her that they’re only staying until the Nationalist armies can take China back from the communists. But those lofty plans seem distant compared to the day-to-day of school, homework, and her parents’ financial struggles. When Lihui has visions transporting her to Shan’s world, the girls find their lives inexplicably intertwined, opening up a doorway and a lifeline neither expected to find.
Spanning the Taiwan Strait and a poignant moment in history, this deeply researched, emotionally resonant novel offers a rare glimpse into the long aftershocks of war. Told in alternating voices and laced with magical realism, it is a story about sisterhood, memory, and the small everyday rebellions that can change everything.
