In times of political turmoil, children find inner strength

Revolution is not a Dinner Party By Ying Chang Compestine Published by Walker Books ISBN 978 1 4063 1585 1

Nine-year-old Ling Chang lives in a city medical complex with her doctor parents in Wuhan . It's 1972, and China's Cultural Revolution is poised to change young Ling's life beyond all recognition.

Ying Chang Compestine's debut Revolution is not a Dinner Party is the story of Ling's evolution from innocent child into a teenager with strengths she didn't know she possessed.

Ling is a normal little girl who sometimes looks at the world through rose-tinted glasses. She doesn't understand why her comfortable life is suddenly disrupted when Comrade Li from the local Communist Party moves into the family apartment, or why this man, who isn't family or a friend, is now part of their lives.

At school, Ling is taught the teachings of Mao Zedong , while at home her father shares his admiration of America with her and gives her regular English lessons.

One of her proudest possessions is a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. For both Dr Chang and his daughter, this iconic structure is much more than just a bridge over water. Slowly, with the Cultural Revolution gaining momentum, the Changs' middle-class life is thrown into turmoil. Comrade Li converts Dr Chang's study into a centre of political organisation and the doctor himself is stripped of his job in the hospital and demoted to cleaning duties.