The Young Will Remember - by Eve J Chung (Hardcover)

About the Book

"It's the coldest Korean winter in decades, and twenty-eight-year-old Chinese American journalist Ellie Chang has hitched a ride on a military flight to cover a battle in the mountains of North Korea when her plane is shot down in enemy territory. The pilot is killed, but Ellie is saved from communist soldiers by a woman who insists Ellie is her missing daughter. Hwa-Ja, "Emma," knows deep in her bones that her daughter, who has been missing since WWII, lives, just as she knows that Ellie is not her. But Ellie is someone's daughter, and she won't watch her die. So she convinces her household to hide the girl. Imo, the matriarch of their home, has no patience for this American girl whose presence could mean the death of them all, but she's seen the rise and fall of power before and knows Ellie could be useful to them. Together - as the Chinese, American, and Korean troops clash, and bombs explode overhead - the women chase the constantly moving frontline south. Emma always searching, Imo haunted by the past, and Ellie keeping her identity hidden at all costs . . . even as her life becomes entangled with theirs. Moving and triumphant, The Young Will Remember sheds light on the Forgotten War and emphasizes the resilience of love within some of our darkest histories, the courage of women and girls, and the indefatigable determination of mothers in war"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A sweeping novel about a correspondent trapped behind enemy lines during the Korean War, and the women who help her find her way home, from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Shandong

1950. It's the coldest winter in decades, and twenty-eight-year-old Chinese American journalist Ellie Chang has hitched a ride on a military flight to cover a battle in the mountains of North Korea when her plane is shot down in enemy territory, stranding her there.

Hwa-Ja, who introduces herself as "Emma," has been searching for her own daughter since the last war ended. When she rescues Ellie from local soldiers, she sees a girl whose mother must be worrying somewhere, and so convinces the family she is sheltering with--the Paks--to take Ellie in.

The matriarch of the Pak home, who Ellie only knows as "Imo," has no patience for this American whose presence could mean the death of them all. She knows too well the danger of being seen with the enemy.

As bombing intensifies, Ellie urges the women to flee southward with her. Together they chase the constantly moving frontline: Emma always searching, Imo haunted by the past, and Ellie keeping her identity hidden at all costs . . . even as her life becomes forever entangled with theirs.

Moving and triumphant, The Young Will Remember sheds light on a "Forgotten War" and emphasizes the resilience of love within some of our darkest histories and the indefatigable determination of mothers in war.

Review Quotes

"[A] sweeping tale of female resiliency and strength."--People

About the Author

Eve J. Chung is a Taiwanese American human rights lawyer focusing on gender equality and women's rights. She lives in New York with her husband, two children, and two dogs.