Wen and her best friend, Shu Ling, have a deal. Whoever gets adopted first will find a family for the one left behind. When Wen finds her forever family and travels to America, she discovers her promise will be difficult to keep. She is overwhelmed by the intensity of learning a new language, fearing her family might send her back, and feeling disloyal to Shu Ling as she begins to form new friendships. How can she get an American family to want Shu Ling before it’s too late. Time is running out. Soon Shu Ling will be too old to adopt. Can Wen keep her promise and find a family for her friend? Can she find security in her own American family?
When Goodreads recommended this book to me, I pounced. While it’s not difficult to find books about orphans in historical settings (Orphan Trains anyone?), contemporary orphan stories seem far and few between. This one was a gem. I devoured it in every spare moment and put it down wishing more authors would tackle similar stories. There’s no high action, life-threatening quests and adventures in this book. Instead it’s the slow blossoming of a heart and a devoted, desperate search for family. If you’re a girl who cares about orphans and adoption, you’ll enjoy this book.
Do you know of any other fictional contemporary orphan/adoption stories? Please tell me! I’d love to find more of them.
Leah E. Good 
There is a movie we enjoy watching at Thanksgiving, called “Home Beyond the Sun.” It’s a Christian movie about Chinese orphans and adoption plays a large part in the story. Really good and suspenseful, but family friendly. When we watched it this year, I was reminded to let you know about it 🙂
http://www.christianbook.com/home-beyond-the-sun/pd/000342