Vanessa Hua, author of A RIVER OF STARS and FORBIDDEN CITY

Published: May 11, 2022, 8 a.m.

b'Vanessa Hua is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and the author of the novel A RIVER OF STARS and a story collection, DECEIT AND OTHER POSSIBILITIES. Her new novel FORBIDDEN CITY is an epic yet intimate portrayal of one of the world\\u2019s most powerful and least understood leaders during an extraordinarily turbulent period in modern Chinese history. This harrowing journey toward truth and disillusionment raises questions about power, manipulation, and belief, as seen through the eyes of a passionate teenage girl.'