Fugue (The Ballad of Yaya #1)

It’s 1937 in Shanghai, and cosseted eight-year-old Yaya has been preparing for an important piano audition. Elsewhere, Tuduo, a street acrobat, is employed by Zhu, a cruel, Fagin-like gang boss who punishes the boy if he doesn’t bring in enough money. Under ordinary circumstances, the children would never meet, but Japanese forces are massed to invade and the city is in a tumult. In cross-cut sequences, impetuous Yaya defies her father’s instructions and sneaks out to the audition (her talking pigeon companion Pipo protests all the way), while Tuduo, sensing disaster, runs away from Zhu to leave his little brother with the nuns in a nearby convent. In nearly deserted streets, Tuduo saves Yaya after she’s knocked unconscious by a bomb’s explosion, but the two run straight into the arms of Zhu and his henchman, the hilariously named Oyster Gravy. The story, slight for the stated age range, is over in a flash. Still, Omont and company offer engaging writing and a colorful plotline, while Zhao draws appealing anime-style characters and conjures up the opulence and squalor of prewar Shanghai with plenty of absorbing detail. Ages 9–12. [em](Apr.) [/em]