Books like Little Leap Forward by Guo Yue
Set in Communist China in 1966, "Little Leap Forward" follows eight‑year‑old Leap as he experiences the exhilaration of kite‑flying with his best friend. While trying to set a caged wild bird free, he also learns to play the bamboo flute. The story is framed by the author’s notes about growing up in Beijing under Mao Zedong and during the Cultural Revolution, offering readers a glimpse into family life and the broader historical context of China’s political climate.
First publish date: 2008
Genre: History/Modern History
Authors: Guo Yue
★
★
★
★
★
0.0 (0 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Little Leap Forward by Guo Yue are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to Little Leap Forward (15 similar books)
After her mother leaves, thirteen‑year‑old Sal travels with her grandparents, retracing her mother’s path while recounting her friend Phoebe’s story of loss and understanding.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A man’s fragmented memory leads him into a surreal hunt for a mysterious force that jeopardizes his existence.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In war‑torn 1937 Shanghai, sisters Pearl and May Beware find their lives turned upside down when their father’s debts force them into marriage and migration to Los Angeles, where they confront love, identity, and the clash between old traditions and new freedoms.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Seventh‑grade freshman Bridge seeks her purpose while navigating friendship, family, and a mysterious new student on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Susan Barker’s novel follows a Beijing taxi driver whose past lives intertwine with a mysterious soulmate, whose letters force him to confront reincarnation, fate, and the shadows of history.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In the backdrop of Mao's Cultural Revolution, two boys discover a stash of 19th‑century Western novels, reshaping their worldviews and opening a bridge between East and West.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A humorous and heartwarming story about friendship, imagination, and learning through video games
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1951 Brooklyn, a lifelong Giants fan teaches nine‑year‑old Maggie, a proud Dodgers devotee, a special score‑keeping trick that sparks an unlikely friendship and shows the joy of baseball at the heart of a family.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In September 1944, eleven‑year‑old Billie waits for her brother Leo to return from boot camp. When Leo brings a Navajo friend, Denny, and a wounded dog named Bear, the trio’s bond bridges family, friendship and the warfront.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1950s Pittsburgh, young Franny, recovering from polio, discovers a peculiar friendship with a flea named Fleabrain, a bond that leads her to question animal research and the nature of imagination.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A boy named Obe Devlin cares for a creek polluted by nearby development and discovers a creature that eats plastic, naming it Marvin Gardens and guarding its secret from everyone.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
During the Cultural Revolution, a Chinese family faces persecution as their apartment is invaded by the Red Guard. With Father sent to the fields and Mother forced to sell family treasures, they struggle to survive.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A coming-of-age story about a young girl's journey to find her voice amidst strict Catholic school rules in Los Angeles, USA in 1949.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Your Eyes in Stars follows the unlikely friendship between a German outsider and the daughter of a prison warden in a small New York town, as their bond is tested by the haunting nightly bugle calls of a life‑serving inmate during the World War II era.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In a Soviet state that stifles dissent, a boy named Yuri faces a brutal conviction for a careless remark, sending him on a harrowing journey to a northern labor camp and forcing him to confront the limits of trust and survival.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung ChangTo Live by Yu Hua
The Song of Everlasting Sorrow by Wang Anyi
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler
Ghosts of Shanghai by Justin Wintle
The Last Emperor by Edward Behr
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!