Forbidden City
Mass Market
Random House Children's Books · Paperback · January 10, 1996
Seventeen-year-old Alex Jackson comes home from school to find that his father, a CBC news cameraman, wants to take him to China's capital, Beijing.
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- Who it’s for
- A tense journey through Beijing brings a young person close to a real historical crisis.
- Themes
- Political freedom, Family separation, Survival and escape
- Pacing
- Fast
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Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Historical YA - Asia.
Li Jun and the Iron RoadAnne Tait64% match
The ExaminationMalcolm Bosse61% matchAlso shares Asia for Teens
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The Bone Collector's SonPaul Yee54% match
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Girls on the LineJennie Liu53% match
Ties That Bind, Ties That BreakLensey Namioka53% match
The Ping-pong Queen of ChinatownAndrew Yang52% match
For younger readers: Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party, Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society, Girl Under a Red Moon: Growing Up During China's Cultural Revolution (scholastic Focus)
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Seventeen-year-old Alex Jackson comes home from school to find that his father, a CBC news cameraman, wants to take him to China's capital, Beijing. Once there, Alex finds himself on his own in Tian An Men Square as desperate students fight the Chinese army for their freedom. Separated from his father and carrying illegal videotapes, Alex must trust the students to help him escape.
Continue reading
Closely based on eyewitness accounts of the massacre in Beijing, Forbidden City is a powerful and frightening story.
History Under Pressure
A tense journey through Beijing brings a young person close to a real historical crisis.
Come here for
- A coming-of-age story grounded in eyewitness accounts
- The charged atmosphere of Tian An Men Square
Expect
- Fear and urgency as Alex faces separation and danger
- A close-up view of a historical crisis through one teenager’s experience
Where it sits
| Historical YA - Asia | 88% |
|---|---|
| War & Military YA | 48% |
| Asia for Teens | 34% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Historical YA - Asia
- Asia for Teens
- Violence & Trauma
- Authors
- William Bell
- Publisher
- Random House Children's Books
- Published
- January 10, 1996
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Political freedom · Family separation · Survival and escape
- Reading lane
- Historical YA - Asia