RED THREAD SISTERSby Carol Antoinette Peacock, 2012
Paperback, 235 pages
Written by Rich Rogers
There is an ancient Chinese story that two people who are destined to meet are connected by a red thread, and though the thread may stretch and tangle, it will never be broken.
Young Wen is eleven years old and has lived in an orphanage most of her life. Life in Chinese orphanages is tough. The conditions are cramped and often dirty. Kids get one change of clothes a week from a communal wardrobe, and showers are once a week as well. Food is tight, the appliances have problems, it’s cold in the winter, and the list goes on. Her best friend is Shu Ling. Together they face the worse the orphanage has to throw at them. And as best friends do, they make a pact: whoever is adopted first will find a family to adopt the other.
Wen’s lucky day comes when a family from Boston adopts her. Wen’s last words to Shu Ling are, “I’ll find you a family,” but when Wen finally arrives in America, she finds things aren’t so easy. There are good things, like McDonald’s, the mall, cell phones that actually work, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, of course. However, she also has many adjustments: a little sister who has been looking forward to a big sister to read her stories and play with her, trying to learn English, school, and its attendant politics surrounding making new friends.
At the back of her mind, though, is always her promise to find a family for Shu Ling. And time is running out quicker than she knows.
In “Red Thread Sisters,” author Carol Antoinette Peacock mines her own experience as an adoptive mother of Chinese children and uses experiences of Chinese adoptees as well.
This is an excellent example of what makes YA literature so good. Peacock tells an engaging story rooted in real life with real people who are both strong and weak. While it’s not bare bones, it focuses on the essentials and still manages to throw a real, but unseen curve ball at you. You wouldn’t think you could get serious tension in a story about an eleven-year-old girl and adoption, but you’d be wrong. This has got great tension in spades, including practically nail-biting stuff. She gives the reader a real experience, complete with mistakes and heroism and the learning of lessons on both parts. There are even times when a lump pops up in the throat. (But then again, I’ve been accused of crying at the opening of an envelope, and certainly giving standing Os at the opening of envelopes.)
The target readers here will be girls from about ten to fourteen, but this is definitely a worthwhile read for adults as well, with nothing for any parent to object to.
Rich welcomes questions and comments from readers. You can contact him at [email protected]
