Nine Days

Gr 9 Up—Ti-Anna's father is a famous Chinese dissident, living in exile in America. When he disappears during a trip to Hong Kong, she is convinced that she can find him. She and her friend Ethan follow his trail to Vietnam, where they realize that they have walked into the same trap her father encountered. But while he was arrested and taken back to China, Ti-Anna will be sold into slavery. Told by Ethan as part of a court-mandated confession (his parents reported him and their credit card missing), this is a political-action thriller inspired by a true story. Hiatt, an editor and columnist at the Washington Post, got the idea to write Nine Days from the work of dissident Wang Bingzhang's daughter (also named Ti-Anna) to free her father. However, despite the real-world inspiration, the protagonists' adventure (and the adults who offer only halfhearted attempts to stop them) requires a great suspension of disbelief. Ti-Anna, who is the driving force of plot, has several unexplained mood swings. While Ethan's narration is useful to impart background information about modern Chinese history, his inability to speak the language means he has to sum up important conversations after Ti-Anna has debriefed him, which can be distracting.—Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VA