"Konstantinos Tsimonis’s new book is an important contribution to an understudied subject. [...] The volume also includes a very helpful discussion of the declining fortunes of the Youth League under Xi Jinping, who not only viewed the league as a bastion of factionalism – the so-called 'league faction' that provided a base of support for the Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao administration. [...] Fortunately, we have this excellent book by Tsimonis to enlighten us on why Hu’s reforms were doomed from the start."
- Stanley Rosen, University of Southern California, China Information 36 (1) (2022)

"Konstantinos D. Tsimonis’ book is an important and timely study that offers a crucial contribution to our understanding of Party-youth relations in contemporary China. [...] the book also addresses youth political organizations’ experience in the former socialist countries and in doing so develops an analytical framework that captures and also goes beyond the peculiarities of the Chinese case."
- Sofia Graziani, The China Journal, Vol. 88, July 2022

"This book adds valuable insights into the inner workings of the CYL in various institutions. It adds nuanced analysis on, for instance, the differences between students at elite universities and vocational colleges’ perceptions of and engagement with the CYL (Chapter 3). Tsimonis’ in-depth analysis of the concept of youth and the subordination of youth interests makes this book a valuable contribution to the study of China’s mass organisations and youth as a political subject under authoritarianism. Altogether, Tsimonis’ book is a solid contribution to the study of contemporary China and youth political participation and will undoubtedly be of interest to scholars and students in China studies, youth studies and political science more broadly."
- Rebekka Åsnes Sagild, European Journal of East Asian Studies 20 (2021)

"This book is overall of great relevance to anyone interested in Chinese youth, and state-society relations in contemporary China more broadly. And while the core of the book centers on the Hu Jintao era, the author develops in the introduction and conclusion exciting observations about the changes that took place under Xi Jinping."
- Jérôme Doyon, Journal of Chinese Political Science (2021)

"Overall, this book makes a major contribution to research on youth organisations and the status of youth in contemporary Chinese society. [...] The qualitative data and insights into this organisation will be useful for researchers who are interested in youth politics in China and political apathy among young people in authoritarian states in general."
- Zheyu Shang, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 74, Iss. 6

"This book is an excellent source for understanding the operation of the CYL under Hu Jintao’s leadership. Most of the other works on this subject are in Chinese, and their authors tend not to use field interviews, but rather to base their research on secondary or official sources."
- Wen-Hsuan Tsai, Pacific Affairs, Feb 2023