Nine Days

by Fred Hiatt

A fast-paced contemporary thriller in the vein of James Patterson and Anthony Horowitz set against the bustling backdrop of Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the border of China. This heart-pounding adventure takes place as two teens, an American teenage boy and his friend, a Chinese girl from his Washington, DC-area high school, must find her father who has been kidnapped—and they only have nine days. Although the characters in the novel are fictionalized, they are based on a real Chinese family who were part of the Chinese Democracy Movement and inspired this story.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Action, Thriller, Suspense

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2013

Reviews

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the premise of Nine Days sounds like it will involve political intrigue and the plight of political prisoners in China, in actuality it's a story about two teens on a nine-day adventure through a foreign land.

Ti-Anna's family moved to the United States when she was very young because her father was forced to leave China. He is still fighting for a democracy in China, even while in the U.S. Ti-Anna becomes friends with Ethan when she discovers he knows a lot about Chinese history. They form a close friendship, and when Ti-Anna reveals that her father returned to China and they haven't heard from him for weeks, Ethan decides they should go to China to find Ti-Anna's father.

I enjoyed the characterizations. It is easy to feel sympathy for Ti-Anna. Josh's obsession with food adds some comic relief. Their moods are accurately reflected as they face many hardships. I did feel that the trail they followed appeared a little to easily. The action and danger doesn't really begin until over halfway through the book. However, the writing is clear and easily understood. The plot flows logically and the book reads rather quickly.

Nine Days is fiction, but there really is a Ti-Anna, and her father is currently being held in a Chinese prison for political activism. There is a nice explanation of the true situation at the end of Nine Days. The book itself however, doesn't really give much information about the politics or plight of these political dissidents. I just never felt the indignation about this situation that I had hoped Nine Days would evoke.

I will recommend Nine Days to teens who are interested in adventures, especially about teens in a foreign land.

[Lou Levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story, using a fast-paced teenage adventure to cast light on important issues - the democracy movement in China and human trafficking. The author draws authentic pictures of Hong Kong and Vietnam that give you a real taste of those places. The voice of Ethan (the narrator) is captivating. Can't recommend this highly enough.

[Hannah McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It is not only a quick read, but you will also learn about China and government. The reason that I didn't give it five stars is because many events that take place in the book would never happen in real life. I also felt that the love connection between The two 15 year old characters wasn't explained well and it didn't seem real.

[Maryam (fictional booktique) · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!
🍂NINE DAYS is based on the true story of the real Ti-Anna, whose father was kidnapped in Vietnam and Ti-Anna is determined to find out what happened so......
🍂Basically the novel is about two teenagers who go to China without telling their parents, hoping that they can help in some way.
🍂Ethan Wynkoop was looking forward to summer vacation after sophomore year of high school, but who knows that those nine short days would change his life forever ! Who?
🍂Well it all started when Ethan's friend Ti-Anna recounted how her father, an political activist and a researcher from his native China, made a mysterious trip to Hong Kong and disappeared shortly after. Afterwards, Ti-Anna had already decided to go investigate, and Ethan wasn't about to let her go alone(silent love🤧)
🍂The story takes off from there as Ethan and Ti-Anna make their way through the strange and wondrous city of Hong Kong and then to Vietnam on a search for Ti-Anna’s father. They have no idea what they are getting into......
🍂The author draws authentic pictures of Hong Kong and Vietnam that give you a real taste of those places.
🍂A good story, casting light on important issues - the democracy movement in China and human trafficking.
🍂This book is in the "all the rage" category of thrillers. It's well written, well plotted and definitely has a great hook.It was somehow a page-turner though, in part because it was an easy read so the reader didn't have to linger and think, but also because the reader wanted to know how the suspense ended.....I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in 3 days🙊🙊
Btw you can watch her interviews on YouTube or @tedtalk

Recommending this book but not recommending as well qk hr ksii ka apna mood hota hy boss😏everyone has their own choices , moods and fav go to genres 🙇🏻‍♀️🙂prhni hy to prh lo!! Nae tey naa saeee🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nine days is an action/adventure mystery with a little thrill written by Fred Hiatt. It is about two teenagers named Ti Anna Chen and Ethan Wynkoop who try to find Ti Anna's missing father in the dangerous streets of Hong Kong. After a long trip from New York they find themselves in the busy streets of Hong Kong. During this adventure they make many friends and many enemies who help and slow them down along the way in their journey. After traveling all along Asia who knows if they will ever find her father. I really enjoyed this book even though I don't like reading it's a fast moving plot that I could barely tear myself away from. I liked the mystery in this book it is very well constructed. I also really didn't like how it jumped so much around the plot and it didn't really make smooth transitions from scene to scene. I think people will like this book if they're into books that are action/ adventure mysteries. This book exceeded my expectations of it being absolutely terrible to quite good, I really liked the style of writing which kept me hooked. I also thought this book was exciting but just enough where you can't predict their characters moves. I highly recommend this book.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, with short chapters and lots of action, this book was a quick, interesting read. It introduces issues relating to political injustice and human trafficking, but not in a way that is heavy or disturbing. I think the best audience for this book would be keen readers in grade five or six or average readers in grades 6-8. The book would be well suited to novel studies and class discussions.

[Yuiko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored of this

[Paulette Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Full of action and based on true events concerning human rights and freedom.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that it was fast-paced, it was a great read. I just wish it had a better resolution.

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie's Picks: NINE DAYS by Fred Hiatt, Delacorte, April 2013, 256p., ISBN: 978-0-385-74273-3

"Freedom, freedom"
-- Richie Havens (1941-2013)

"I've been reading about China for a long time, and the more I learn the more I want to know.
"So when Mr. Stoltz called Mao 'the father of his nation,' the George Washington of modern China, it set me off.
"On certain subjects I feel strongly, and sometimes when I hear something dumb, or wrong, I can't stop myself.
"This was one of those times.
"I raised my hand.
"Mr. Stoltz sighed.
"'Yes, Ethan?'
"I said I didn't recall that George Washington ever caused a famine that killed twenty million of his countrymen.
"To which one of my classmates, a boy with expensive sunglasses whose father is a diplomat in the Chinese embassy, said I was being culturally insensitive, because Chinese people were proud of Mao and what he'd done for their country. Mao had brought China from the dark ages into the modern world, he said, and who was I to go against the Chinese people?
"At that point I should have apologized and said I respect their point of view.
"Instead I chose to inquire what kind of father would make his nation take a 'Great Leap Forward' in which impoverished peasants had to turn their backyards into iron factories and melt down their pots and pans so that before you knew it no one could cook dinner anymore.
"And because that worked out so well, he tried something even crazier a couple of decades later (that's right; no term limits in Communist China), which he called the Cultural Revolution. That involved getting young people to turn against their parents and even beat them, and punishing anyone who had any formal education."

Tenth-grader Ethan Wynkoop's questioning of his World History teacher's position on Mao gains Ethan a big fan. His Chinese-American classmate Ti-Anna Chen -- named for Tiananmen Square -- is the daughter of a Chinese dissident who was exiled from China after spending hard time in prison there for advocating for the sorts of freedoms and democratic principles we often take for granted in this country. Even now, in the outskirts of Washington, DC where they live, Ti-Anna's father is being watched.

After Ethan speaks up that day, Ti-Anna approaches him, and soon Ethan and Ti-Anna become close friends. Then, as summer vacation approaches, Ti-Anna's father -- who'd been on a trip to Hong Kong -- disappears.

With Ti-Anna longing to be in Hong Kong so that she can try to learn what has happened to her beloved father, and with Ti-Anna's non-English-speaking mother paralyzed by her husband's disappearance, and with Ethan's parents gone away to an overseas conference, Ethan comes up with an insane plan involving stealing his mother's credit card, pretending to be in NYC, forging the paperwork needed for he and Ti-Anna to fly as unaccompanied minors, and taking off with her for Hong Kong.

And so they do it.

I absolutely love the pacing, the setting, and the characters in NINE DAYS. You know how they always say to "Write what you know"? Well, this one is written by a guy who knows. Washington Post editorial page editor and columnist Fred Hiatt once served with his wife as co-bureau chiefs of the Post's Northeast Asia Bureau. Hiatt's personal knowledge of the geography, culture, history, and underbelly of the exotic settings we encounter here -- in Hong Kong, in Vietnam, and in China -- causes us to be so constantly and intimately immersed in the sights, smells, and tastes of these places. And our two main characters are so powerfully real to me that my heart just about stopped a few times as they face life-threatening dangers, hunger, and sleep deprivation in their search for Ti-Anna's father. The sweet, innocent, adolescent chemistry between them is something else that is just pitch-perfect.

"To kill time, and get under some kind of roof, we visited Ho Chi Minh, though he happens to be dead.
"Ho was the Communist leader who led Vietnam in wars against the French, in the 1950s and '60s, and against the Americans, in the 1960s and '70s, eventually beating both. According to their official history, which of course is written by the Communists who still run the place, he is the beloved father of his nation -- their George Washington. Yes, just like the Chinese and Mao.
"They have him pickled and on display, in this monumental mausoleum in the middle of a parade ground in the middle of Hanoi. (Yes, just like Mao in Beijing.)"

That's Mao ze Pickle, noted my friend, when I told her about it. Which I was doing because it was one of the many things I was excited about learning from this great new piece of YA literature.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably give this a 3.5 (Come on goodreads! Make a .5 point system!)

Ethan Wynkoop is a 15-year-old boy who a near-obsessive interest in Chinese culture. He becomes friends with Ti-Anna Chen, whose father is a Chinese activist, though he has been exiled from his country due to past demonstrations. Ti-Anna confides to Ethan that her father, who had gone to meet other activists in China, is now missing. Ethan comes up with a plan to go to Hong Kong with Ti-Anna and track down her father, only to find that her father’s enemies have their eye on Ti-Anna and Ethan as well.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that it is based on a true story. After finishing the story, the reader is presented with an afterword from the real Ti-Anna, who discusses how her tale varies from the book. Ti-Anna’s story is fascinating and heart-breaking, and Fred Hiatt does an admirable job keeping the essential elements of the real life story while writing a fictional novel. However, one big question I had throughout the entire book was simply, “How??” Ethan and Ti-Anna find the money to fly to Hong Kong and stay for nine days, maneuver the streets of one of the most crowded cities in the world, communicate with other activists, and dodge experienced criminals, yet are only 15-years-old. Technically, these things are explained, and I suppose they are plausible, but would rarely be possible. Granted, this is a fictional novel; however I cannot imagine many 15-year-olds who would have the ability to do what Ethan and Ti-Anna do in this book. That being said, the actual investigation into her father’s whereabouts is very engaging, as is the developing relationship between two friends, who up until this point have been somewhat casual, but are now plunged into a life-altering experience and have to completely rely on each other. I would recommend this book – it’s a fast read, and should be read because the majority of us do not know what is happening with the Chinese government, and it is something with which everyone should be aware.
http://www.fredhiatt.com/

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethan Wynkoop has known Ti-Anna since sixth grade but it is only after a tenth grade class discussion about whether Mao could be considered the 'father of modern China' that they become friends. The teacher compares Mao to George Washington. Ethan can't help but speak up and point out that George Washington didn't kill twenty million of his countrymen.

After class, Ti-Anna thanks him for speaking up in class. Her parents are from China and relocated to Washington, D.C. when it became too dangerous for her father to stay in China. They left when Ti-Anna was four years old. Nathan later learns her father was once a big deal in the Chinese democracy movement and is now exiled from the country he loves and the people he wants to help. Ti-Anna is surprised and pleased that Nathan has heard about her father and a friendship begins.

Ethan's fascination with China began years earlier and his reading has led him to admire the Chinese. He begins to admire Ti-Anna as well. One day she points out a blue Taurus from the Chinese Embassy parked across from her apartment building. The embassy still keeps tabs on her father.

Shortly after, Ti-Anna's activist father disappears while on a trip to Hong Kong. Ti-Anna and her mother are terrified that the Chinese have taken him captive. She and Ethan decide to fly Hong Kong to find out what happened. Without Ethan's parents being aware of where he is and what he is doing, they set out to rescue Ti-Anna's father. Their trip takes nine days. Nine days during which they are lied to, followed, and Ti-Anna is captured by criminals to be sold as a sex slave.

This book is about so many serious things. It's too complex to call it a political thriller which it is, but it's also about friendship and is based on the life of Ti-Anna Wang. Ti-Anna Wang's parents named her Ti-Anna in commemoration of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Her father is a political prisoner. Fred Hiatt is a Washington Post editor and former foreign correspondent.

[Jason Furman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable, edifying, and ultimately passionate book. Nine Days is somewhat misleadingly marketed as a young adult thriller in the spirit of James Patterson. While I have not read any James Patterson, it is hard to believe it is much like this. Nine Days has a good plot that keeps you turning the pages through the short, rapid-fire chapters, as you go from the United States to Hong Kong to Vietnam and back to Hong Kong and the United States.

But the book is really a passionate case for human rights, an argument that individual actions (even by a high school student) can make a difference, and a condemnation of practices like human trafficking. These themes come through increasingly clearly as you read and are made completely manifest when you read the real story it was inspired by (also involving a girl named Ti-Anna, like the heroine of Nine Days) and Fred Hiatt's afterword. In that sense, the books seems to attempt to bait-and-switch young thrill-seeking readers into something that they will really learn from.

I also thought the two main characters were well drawn, Ethan as an earnest American boy and Ti-Anna as a smart, self assured, and consistently optimistic daughter of an exiled Chinese dissident.

Overall, would recommend it for any age.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ethan and Ti-Anna have become good friends during their sophomore year in high school. They share their lunches and feel comfortable with each other. Ti-Anna reveals to Ethan that her father is a Chinese activist who has gone missing during a recent trip to Hong Kong. Ethan and Ti-Anna decide to give themselves about a week to find him and bring him back.

Definitely an outlandish premise (two teens traveling across the world to save a political figure), Hiatt does a great job in describing the Asian setting in clear, easy-to-understand terms. Ethan and Ti-Anna are sympathetic characters, full of energy and passionate about their cause.

However, when they stumble upon a prostitution ring and Ethan saves the day by burning down a boat, the story became wildly different. Before that, it was about two teens finding their way in a foreign country and trying to solve a mystery. Once the boat incident happened, it become completely implausible for me to be invested in the tale. However, teens will learn a good deal about modern Chinese history and its relationship with its people, which is a great thing.

[Janie Chodosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is an interesting book. Written by Fred Hiatt, a columnist for the Washington Post, with the help of Ti-Anna Wang, whose life story this story fictionalizes, NINE DAYS tells the story of Ethan and Ti-Anna as they try to find out what happened to Ti-Anna's political activist father who has gone missing while on a trip to Hong Kong. Although some of the plotting, such as how they were able to sneak out of the USA and go to China felt a little forced, the story was compelling and kept me turning the pages. The plot deals with relevant political topics, but not in a way that is heavy handed or didactic. This book is a thriller, and it does thrill. As Ethan and Ti-Anna try to find out what happened to their father, they encounter, as one might expect, many obstacles, although, not all of the obstacles are what you would expect. As an author of young-adult fiction and a high school teacher, I felt this book hit the mark.

[Beccie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the kind of book I generally read, and I'm not sure how much it will get checked out in my library, but I hope it does because it deals with some very important issues. We don't hear too much about political activists in China, or about human trafficking. Both of those issues are dealt with in this book in a way that makes it both exciting to read and also very informative. It made me want to educate myself more on the Chinese Cultural Revolution because I don't know much about it at all. Ethan and Ti-Anna are very likable characters (Ethan's constant need for food is endearing),and while some of the situations they get themselves involved in are a little implausible, it adds tension and interest to the story. I love that the author put the "real" Ti-Anna's story in at the end of the book. All in all I'm really glad I read it and I recommend it.

[Kita · Rating 3 out of 5]

My twelve-year-old daughter and I read this for a book club. She loved it and would give it five stars. I liked that it appeals to teens as a quick paced adventure story, and that it also addresses real issues in China. There is a real Ti-Anna (though she didn't experience the adventure the Ti-Anna in the book experiences) and her father. a pro-democracy activist, remains in prison in China. You can also tell that Hiatt, a journalist, has spent a fair amount of time in the areas where the characters travel.There are some flaws in the book, however, that were distracting. The story itself seemed unbelievable in a lot of ways, the narrator's voice sounded nothing like a teenage boy's and his actions (especially with Ti-Anna) often didn't ring true either. Still, I'm glad we read it and think it will make for a good discussion.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ethan - a high school student with a lively interest in Chinese culture and politics - befriends Ti-Anna, a fellow student and daughter of a prominent expatriate Chinese dissident. When Ti-Anna's father first travels to Hong Kong and then goes missing, Ethan and Ti-Anna make the wild decision to run away to Hong Kong to find him.

A tense and thrilling adventure, what I appreciated most is that it doesn't rely on silly devices like teen characters with near super-powers or access to fantastic resources. The only extraordinary powers Ethan and Ti-Anna have are determination and devotion.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author and the young woman who is the inspiration for the main character presented a session at the National Book Festival in DC. We attended the presentation which was moving and compelling, mostly because Ti-Anna told her story. The book was a real disappointment. First, it is written as if the author think that teen books should be simplistic and silly. Not true. This book is not well written, the details are thin, the storyline is not believable, the events make the reader roll their eyes. Too bad, because the true story (Ti-Anna's story) is so compelling.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethan and Ti-Anna impulsively travel to HongKong in an attempt to find Ti-Anna’s father, a Chinese dissident, who disappeared recently. They quickly find themselves in over their heads and caught up in a girl smuggling and trafficking operation.
Based on a true story, I appreciated this glimpse of topics that aren’t written about much. The cover looks like a dystopian novel, so if one does not look or read carefully, they will be very surprised about the content of this book. It’s well worth reading and I recommend it.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very factual and had an intriguing setting. Moving around from Hong Kong to Lamma and Hanoi, Ti-Anna and Ethan are trying to find out where Ti-Anna's dad is. Thinking that his parents don't really care about his well-being, Ethan accompanies her, forging signatures and swiping his parents' Visa card.

I loved how the setting was very descriptive because it gave a good visual of these places if the reader hasn't been there before. It also built up Ethan's character, seeing as he was very interested in the history and teachings of said places.

[Great Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Ethan got into an argument about Mao Zedong in history class, he set off a chain of events that would make him a new friend, a lot of enemies, and take him halfway around the world. Ti-Anna’s father, a Chinese democracy activist, recently disappeared on a trip to Hong Kong. With barely a plan, Ethan and Ti-Anna risk their lives and freedom to track him down. Inspired by a true story, this thriller will appeal to fans of James Patterson and Anthony Horowitz.

Reviewer #13

[Benjamin Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was literally made out of mystery and plot twists. The way the story described what was going on was great. They used a little bit of foreshadowing but most of the story was a mystery. As you read on the the story becomes more and more suspenseful. The main characters travel to far places but run into some problems. This drew me in and made me want to finish the book to see what would happen in the end. Overall the book was amazing and I would read it again.

[Jeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have a lot of experience with this genre. I guess it's a YA? Tween novel?

I liked the premise which started with elements of a true story. It was thought-provoking and instigated some interesting discussions on politics, risk-taking and courage. My 12 year old found some of the situations in the novel improbable.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Ethan's and Ti-Anna's story. This novel is based on a true story, in which a girl's father is lured to China and kidnapped. When the two decide to embark on a journey to track down Ti-Anna's father, the pair have no idea what they are getting themselves into. A fast-paced story full of determination, Nine Days will take readers to the heart of Hong Kong.

[star_fire13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy read. Pretty good too. I dunno. It didn't really leave me with much of an impression one way or the other haha

Although the main characters were really dumb sometimes. But I guess that's how real 15 year olds act, not dystopian, aged-beyond-their-years 15 year olds do, like I'm used to haha

[Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story had potential, but it was so driven by the research that I couldn't really lose myself in it. I ended up speed-reading the second half just to find out what happened. I did like Ethan's voice and character, and I wish those elements had been allowed to dominate, rather than the information that the author was trying to convey.

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent read with two teenagers hoping to locate and possibly rescue the girl's father who has disappeared in China. The book is fast paced and well written. It depicts the political difficulty the two encounter as they encounter individual after individual who seems to want to help them.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just ok - would have gone 2.5 stars actually if GR would finally put a half star rating in place. I think with the subject matter the writer could have taken more risks and written it toward a HS aged YA audience.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy and girl go to Hong Kong to try to find her father, an exiled Chinese dissident, who has disappeared. This book is loosely based on a real case and the details and dangers the two kids encounter are all the more frightening because of their realism.