The Gotta-Have-It Book of the Month: Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman

The Tease:

Something among them had caught his eye anew. He turned around and picked up Claire’s canteen. It had belonged to her stepbrother Dominic, who’d purchased it years ago from a camping and military surplus store. It was still snapped in its original, khaki-colored canvas case with “Property of the U.S. Army” stenciled on it in fading black letters.
Until that moment, I’d assumed the officer’s visit was mostly a formality, a bureaucratic ritual designed to impress and intimidate visitors. As he’d questioned us, I’d even started imagining how I was going to embellish this story later telling it to loved ones back home. It seemed obvious to me that Claire and I were innocents; what’s more, we were U.S. citizens with valid American passports – golden tickets, I’d presumed. What could the Chinese really, possibly do to a couple of red, white, and blue girls armed with nothing but backpacks, T-shirts, and good intentions?

Available: March 24, 2009