About the Book \;
\nA teenage girl living in 1960s China becomes Mao Zedong's pr oté\;gé\;e and lover--and a poster child for the Cultural Revo lution--in this provocative\, poignant novel from the bestselling author o f A River of Stars. On the eve of China's Cultural Revolution and her sixt eenth birthday\, Mei dreams of becoming a model revolutionary. When the Co mmunist Party recruits girls for a mysterious duty in the capital\, she se izes the opportunity to escape her impoverished village. It is only when M ei arrives at the Chairman's opulent residence--a forbidden city unto itse lf--that she learns that the girls' job is to dance with the Party elites.
\n\nAbout the Author \;
\nVanessa Hua is an award-winning\ , best-selling author. Her novel\, A River of Stars\, was named to the Was hington Post and NPR&rsquo\;s Best Books of 2018 lists\, and has been call ed a "marvel" by O\, The Oprah Magazine\, and "delightful" by The Economis t. Her short story collection\, \;Deceit and Other Possibilities\,&nbs p\; \;a New York Times Editors' Choice\, received an Asian/Pacific Ame rican Award in Literature and was a finalist for a California Book Award\, and a New American Voices Award. Her novel\, Forbidden City&mdash\;called &ldquo\;magnificent&rdquo\; by Publisher&rsquo\;s Weekly\, a &ldquo\;new classic&rdquo\; by the San Francisco Chronicle\, and &ldquo\;masterful&rdq uo\; by the Washington Post&mdash\; is a national bestseller. \;Previo usly\, she was a longtime columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. For m ore than two decades\, she has been writing about Asia and the diaspora\, filing stories from China\, Burma\, Panama\, \;South Korea\, \;and Ecuador. \;She began her career at the Los Angeles Times \;before heading east to the Hartford Courant. Her work has appeared in the New Yo rk Times\, \;San Francisco Magazine\, \;Washington Post\, \;Th e Atlantic\, \;and Newsweek\, among other publications. She is a Visit ing Writer at Saint Mary's College of California
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For this event we have partnered with Old Town Books\, a g
eneral interest local bookshop in Old Town Alexandria. They are passionate
about building a bookish community through in-person and virtual book clu
bs and author events. Learn more at \;oldtownbooks.com. \;
Pre-orders can be placed online \;or in-store. The book will be
available for in-store pick-up or shipment \; beginning April 18. You
can find them at 130 South Royal Street in Alexandria\, open seven days a
week 10AM-7PM. \;