The Ballad of Yaya Book 7: The Trap

The continuing adventure of little rich girl Yaya and her street urchin friend Tuduo as they cross war-torn Shanghai in the wake of the Japanese invasion of 1937 in hopes of finding Yaya’s parents.

This nine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. The children meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they travel toward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo learn many growing lessons along the way, not the least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social or financial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to the incredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality.

In Book 7, Yaya’s memory is still missing, even after being saved from a wolf attack in the forest by the wicked Zhu, the gangster who has been chasing her for her family’s wealth. She mistakes him for a good Samaritan and agrees to follow him to Hong Kong where he promised to return her to her parents. Meanwhile, Tuduo keeps his promise by also going to Hong Kong to inform her parents of her apparent death.