China Run

by David Ball

Book Overview

When the Chinese government, citing "clerical error," demands that six American families waiting for the adoption papers they need to take their promised babies back to America surrender their precious charges, Allison Turk refuses. With her young stepson, three other adults and three infants, she defies the powerful forces arrayed against them--including her own husband--to flee halfway across China and make a run for the American consulate in Shanghai...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743227433
• ISBN13: 9780743227438
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Read & keep in mind this is a FICTIONAL BOOK

This fictional book is suppose to be based upon elements of a true story. I too have a daughter from China which I love dearly and would move the moon and stars to keep her safe and among our family. I would hope to be every bit as strong as the fictional Mom - Allison Turk. If you are in the midst of adoption, please do not let this book stop you, it is a work of fiction and a suspenseful read at that. Another reader reviewed this book and said that the author makes those of us who adopt from Peoples' Republic of China look desperate... I cannot disagree more.

A Good Read, isn't that what fiction is really about?

I have never been to China, or adopted a child. I just enjoy good fiction, written well, with a smooth rythm of story progression, and characters I love and care about. Add a thriller aspect that leaves the reader turning the pages as fast as they can, and you have a great book. I won't make this a political statement. It is just one man's version of a possibility. If anything, it will make the believers cautious, perhaps ask a few more questions, and that can't hurt.Allison Turk has come to China to adopt a baby, and because of an unknown glitch the officials have requested she turn the baby over to officials, and a new baby will be forthcoming. Allison who has bonded with the child decides to take matters into her own hands, along with her 9 year old step-son Tyler, she makes a run for it. Her journey is nothing short of remarkarkable. The story culminates in moments as montrous as the imagination could devise. Just what is going on with the unwanted children in China? Is there any truth in it? I don't know, but the story caught me up in it's momentum from start to finish...Kelsana

Outstanding!

David Ball takes the reader on a thrilling adventure through China with several American families desperately trying to keep their adoptive babies. Considering international adoption myself, I was delighted to share in the strong bond that develops between each family and their new child. So many plot twists I couldn't put it down!

Loved this book!!

What a storyteller David Ball is. I could not put this book down. He develops wonderful characters, both American and Chinese, and has exquisite descriptions of China, and the plot is totally intriguing and fast-moving. It is well-written and exciting, and I learned a lot about the exotic, and complicated, land and culture of China. It provides an exciting trip through that country. The books is extremely revealing about the process of adoption and shows how sensitive, and frustratingly arbitrary, it can be. Loved it.

I did not want to like it -- but it is a great read

When I first received the book, I opened it and read the prologue and wept. The story of a woman's suffering through pregnancies and abortions and difficult choices presented by a one-child policy and family pressures has more than a ring of truth to it.Fortunately, that is where the truth ends.Yes, this book is 'fiction' but the wording on the fly leaf indicating it is based upon a 'true' incident will mislead people into thinking there is more truth here than fiction and that is NOT the case.The 'true' part of the story is that international adoption from China used to be run by more than one governmental agency, and in the late mid-1990's this process was changed in order to tighten controls and eliminate irregularities in processing of applications. There had never been even any hint of baby selling or organ-farming, and the implication that there may have been, while titillating, is a creation of the author's imagination.During the transition period of the re-org, there were families who had been 'matched' and notified of their referrals, only to have their referrals changed later on - most prior to leaving for China. At the end of the re-organization, CCAA became the sole governmental arbiter of all things related to adoption in China. The China program of international adoption is a well-run program, resulting in the placement of approximately 6000 children into loving homes around the world each year.So the 'true incident' mentioned on the book cover in no way resembles the story as written. In fact, the incident in the book never took place. The author's story is an extrapolation of the re-org into a HUGE 'what if' scenario.And, as far as that goes, that is fine - because this is, afterall, a fiction novel.However, the book does make interesting reading, and it is unfortunate that the fly leaf does not provide more details about the 'true incident' because the statement that it is 'based upon a true incident' misleads readers into thinking that the story is more true than it is. And, as we know that many people only think as far as the end of their nose about these things, it presents a very wrong, and therefore potentially VERY harmful, impression about China, Chinese government officials, the adoption process and adopting parents.What makes the situation even more maddening for those of us who have gone through the process or are in the midst of the process, is that the author is also the Dad of a daughter adopted from China. This not only makes some of us feel betrayed, but also angry, as it lends a level of veracity to the fictional story that is neither warranted nor wanted.All that being said, you will easily get caught up in the action and emotional turmoil of the adopting parents, especially the protagonist - an adopting mom who has been told she must give back her daughter, and runs, with her 9 year old stepson in tow, for their lives.Mr. Ball's writing about the Chinese countryside and daily life is on the mark, and very well d