Red Thread Sisters

Red Thread Sisters

When a girl is adopted from a Chinese orphanage, everything she knew about family, best friends, and sisterhood must change. Wen has spent the first eleven years of her life at an orphanage in rural China, and the only person she would call family is her best friend, Shu Ling. When Wen is adopted by an American couple, she struggles to adjust to every part of her new life: having access to all the food and clothes she could want, going to school, being someone's daughter. But the hardest part of all is knowing that Shu Ling remains back at the orphanage, alone. Wen knows that her best friend deserves a family and a future, too. But finding a home for Shu Ling isn't easy, and time is running out . . . Gr 4-8-When Wen is adopted, she promises that after arriving in America, she'll find a family for her best friend, Shu Ling. Leaving China and everyone she knows is hard. In addition to having to learn English and adjust to a new school, she lives in fear of being sent back and wonders why she can't open up to her new family. Things get worse when her father loses his job and extras have to be cut. Is Wen an extra? With the clock counting down before Shu Ling ages out of eligibility, Wen tries to overcome her feelings of inadequacy to embrace her new life as she learns the true meaning of friendship, family, and unconditional love. Wen's journey is perfectly paced as she comes to accept her new life. She finds common ground with her new friends in surprising and moving places and learns that letting in new people doesn't mean forgetting the old ones. While the resolution to the plotline involving Shu Ling is a bit unrealistic, overall, Wen's story is heartwarming and joyous.-Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. When 11-year-old Wen is adopted by a U.S. family, she promises to find an American family for her dear friend and red thread sister Shu Ling, too. As Wen adapts to her new family and community, she never forgets her pledge, but she finds it more difficult than anticipated, as Shu Ling has a clubfoot and is 13 years old; at 14, Chinese children age out of adoption. Wen’s desperate attempt to find an adoptive family drives the plot, creating palpable tension, but her evolving relationships at home and school are also beautifully developed. Her generally positive experiences with adoption agency bureaucracy strain credibility, but the support of the Internet community rings true. Most children’s books on this topic are picture books featuring infants or preschool adoptees. Heartfelt yet never sentimental, this middle-grade novel provides a rare look at the problems and experiences facing older adoptees. Grades 3-5. --Linda Perkins "My heart felt bigger after reading this story, somehow truer." — Kathi Appelt, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor winner "A tender, nuanced novel." — Elizabeth Partridge, National Book Award Finalist and Printz Honor winner "A heartwarming, un-put-down-able story about the kind of friendship that is more like family." — Courtney Sheinmel, author of SINCERELY and POSITIVELY "Wen’s journey is perfectly paced as she comes to accept her new life. . . . Heartwarming and joyous." — School Library Journal "A moving and engaging experience for readers. A fine addition to both the coming-of-age genre and books sensitively dealing with cross-cultural adoption." — Kirkus Reviews "Wen's selflessness and determination are poignant but not overly sentimental, and the story's harsh truths about children in need are sensitively expressed." — Publishers Weekly "Beautifully developed. . . . Heartfelt yet never sentimental." — Booklist "I have never read a book that displayed the true meaning of friendship in a better way than Red Thread Sisters, and I can't recommend it highly enough." — Winter 2012 Kids' Indie Next List A 2012 Parents' Choice Book Award winner — Parents' Choice Foundation A Massachusetts Book Award Must-Read Book of 2013 — http://www.massbook.org/massbooks2013.html A 2013 Notable Book for a Global Society — Children's Literature & Reading Special Interest Croup of the International Reading Association Carol Antoinette Peacock is the author of a number of picture books, including Mommy Far, Mommy Near and Pilgrim Cat . An adoptive mother of two daughters from China, she drew upon her own experiences to write Red Thread Sisters . Carol lives outside Boston, Massachusetts, where, besides being a writer, she's also a practicing psychologist.