A bittersweet story told by two teens on opposite sides of the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Phoenix is an upper-class prep school student who gets swept up in the protests; Kai is a recent immigrant from mainland China who joins the police force to gain the approval of his HK officer father. This book is beautiful, propulsive, and important–I’d recommend it highly to older teens, with the note that it includes some really intense, difficult scenes that may be too much for younger readers.
An Echo in the City by K. X. Song, (List Price: 18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316396820, April 2023)
Reviewed by Talia Smart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina