Cirrus@Austlit

'A novel about growing up in a migrant Asian family with a mother who is suffering from mental illness, from the highly commended author of Freedom Swimmer.

'Anna Chiu has her hands pretty full looking after her brother and sister and helping out at her dad's restaurant, all while her mum stays in bed. Dad's new delivery boy, Rory, is a welcome distraction and even though she knows that things aren't right at home, she's starting to feel like she could just be a normal teen.

'But when Mum finally gets out of bed, things go from bad to worse. And as Mum's condition worsens, Anna and her family question everything they understand about themselves and each other.

'A nourishing tale about the crevices of culture, mental wellness and family, and the surprising power of a good dumpling.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Shaozhen has no intention of staying in his remote Henan village and becoming another poor farmer: he’ll finish school, and then, hopefully, work in a factory in one of the major cities, just like his father. But when Shaozhen returns home for the summer holidays, imagining days filled with nothing but playing basketball with his friends, he’s in for a shock. The worst drought in over sixty years threatens the crops that the entire village relies on for income. As the water situation becomes dire, Shaozhen realises he must come up with a plan. But will it be enough to save his family and friends and secure the future of his village?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ming survived the famine that killed his parents during China's 'Great Leap Forward', and lives a hard but adequate life, working in the fields with his fellow villagers...When a group of city boys come to the village as part of a government re-education program, Ming and his friends aren't sure what to make of the new arrivals. They're intellectuals not used to hard labour and village life. But despite his reservations, Ming befriends a charming city boy called Li. The two couldn't be more different, but slowly they form a bond over evening swims and dreamlike discussions...But as the bitterness of life under the Party begins to take its toll on both boys, they begin to imagine the impossible: freedom.' (Publication summary)