Distant Land of My Father, by Bo Caldwell
If you are looking for a good book to curl up with on a hot summer's day to get out of the heat - this is a good one! Caldwell's story about a young girl, Anna Shoen, growing up in a wealthy family in Shanghai in the 1930's is compelling reading. Her characters are believably real and she paints such vivid pictures of the streets of Shanghai, you can almost smell the Yangtze river and the street vendors fried noodles. I like learning about history through someone else living it. A beautiful story intertwining family, history, love and forgiveness.