A National Bestseller
One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2022a�"Vulture, Electric Lit, Ms. magazine, The Millions, and Book Riot
On the eve of Chinaa�TMs Cultural Revolution and her sixteenth birthday, Mei dreams of becoming a model revolutionary. When the Communist Party recruits girls for a mysterious duty in the capital, she seizes the opportunity. Mei gradually becomes the Chairmana�TMs confidante a�" and paramour. While he fends off political rivals, Mei faces down schemers who will stop at nothing to take her place and the Chairmana�TMs imperious wife, who has secret plans of her own. When the Chairman finally gives Mei a political mission, she seizes it with fervor, but the brutality of this latest stage of the revolution makes her begin to doubt all the certainties she has held so dear.