Young adult fiction in the high school english program works well when it makes teens think, and think deeply about the world and its people. This newly recreated young adult fiction book does just that. Anna has moved to Shanghai in China for a short trip to study at the local art college. She is instantly immersed in Chinese culture and traditions. She meets Chenxi, a local art student who is paid to be her guide during her stay. Anna falls head over heels in love with Chenxi, but is constantly frustrated by his perceptions of her as just a know it all foreigner with no real understanding of China and the people who live there. Although Chenxi grows to respect Anna's skills as an artist, he remains aloof to her attentions.
Anna writes her thoughts and feelings about Chenxi, about Chinese culture and traditions, and her own learning as a young woman into her journal, but unfortunately through the deviousness of the family maid, Chenxi is forced into hiding after Anna writes of his activities in the journal. Chenxi is an artist, but he is passionate about sharing his ideas on art, democracy and censorship and other elements of Chinese culture and traditions with others in an underground network of artists, and it is these activities which lead to his undoing.
After a brief and passionate time shared together one evening, Anna finds herself pregnant and has to suffer the humiliation and trauma of having her pregnancy diagnosed in a Chinese hospital. She decides to keep the baby, and the final scene of the book sees her back in her suburban Melbourne, where she had arrived only a few days before the tragic Tianamen Square massacre. She has never learned what fate befell her beloved Chenxi, but she has kept a note from a friend telling her he is safe but that she should never write again.
There are a range of themes and issues which can be discussed through this young adult fiction novel within a high school English curriculum. These include:
- The Tianamen Square events of June 4th, 1989
- Censorship and freedom of expression through art, music, writing and dance
- Chinese culture and traditions
- Democracy
- Systems of government around the world
- What we learn from meeting people from differing cultures and backgrounds
- Traveling and life long learning
- Chinese art - silk painting, calligraphy, pottery
Formats to use for studying this young adult fiction book in high school English classes include whole class and smaller group discussions, posing 'what would you do?' questions to students, creating a poster or display about Tianamen Square in Beijing, writing a report about democracy and what it means, creating a web page with photos showing Chinese culture and traditions or organizing a debate about whether books and works of art should be censored.
The book is written for a young adult fiction audience, and could be easily studied by young people in high school English classes. Note that the book contains descriptions of the physical relationship between Chenxi and Anna and information about diagnosing her pregnancy in China - this could be upsetting or inappropriate for some younger readers. It is easy to read, with a straight forward, easy to follow plot. The language is appealing and the story keeps moving along well to maintain the interest of most readers of young adult fiction.