An Echo in the City
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- $199.00
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- $199.00
Descripción editorial
“A gorgeous, stirring book; a stellar debut.” ―Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of The Serpent King
Star-crossed teens meet during the Hong Kong protests in this searing contemporary novel about falling in love in a time of change, for fans of Malinda Lo and Axie Oh.
Sixteen-year-old Phoenix knows her parents have invested thousands of dollars to help her leave Hong Kong and get an elite Ivy League education. They think America means big status, big dreams, and big bank accounts. But Phoenix doesn’t want big; she just wants home. The trouble is, she doesn’t know where that is … until the Hong Kong protest movement unfolds, and she learns the city she’s come to love is in danger of disappearing.
Seventeen-year-old Kai sees himself as an artist, not a filial son, and certainly not a cop. But when his mother dies, he’s forced to leave Shanghai to reunite with his estranged father, a respected police officer, who’s already enrolled him in the Hong Kong police academy. Kai wants to hate his job, but instead, he finds himself craving his father’s approval. And when he accidentally swaps phones with Phoenix and discovers she’s part of a protest network, he finds a way to earn it: by infiltrating the group and reporting their plans back to the police.
As Kai and Phoenix join the struggle for the future of Hong Kong, a spark forms between them, pulling them together even as their two worlds try to force them apart. But when their relationship is built on secrets and deception, will they still love the person left behind when the lies fall away?
Perfect for fans of:
★ Romeo and Juliet
★ Star-crossed lovers trope
★ Activism
★ Diaspora lit
★ International politics
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two teens navigate interpersonal issues and budding romance amid civil unrest in Song's affecting debut, set at the height of 2019 Hong Kong protests against the Chinese extradition bill. To avoid tension surrounding her parents' recent divorce, 16-year-old Phoenix "Nix" Lam accompanies her older brother to a student protest, which sparks her passion for justice and compels her to use her photography skills to document the movement and raise awareness. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Zhang Kai En has recently relocated from Shanghai to Hong Kong to live with his father after his mother's death. Though Kai dreams of becoming an artist, he joins the police academy to prove himself to his taciturn father, a respected inspector with the Political Tactical Unit. After accidentally swapping phones at a restaurant, Nix and Kai become fast friends, and Nix invites Kai to get involved in the movement. Eager to get ahead at the academy, Kai withholds his status as a trainee from Nix and uses her involvement to infiltrate the organizing meetings. Song thoughtfully depicts Nix's and Kai's economic disparity and initially opposing ideals via their uniquely developed alternating POVs, providing an unflinching depiction of two teens living through a fraught period in history. Ages 14–up.
