Product Description

"Allison realized she'd been awake for twenty-four hours. She hadn't done that since college. It had been the most remarkable twenty-four hours of her life -- hours in which, for better or worse, a choice had been made, a line crossed. There was no going back. Each time she thought about it, she felt the same strange shock: She was a straitlaced civil engineer from Denver, huddled in the bowels of a broken-down cargo boat on the Wan Li Chang Jiang, the Yangtze River. Hunted by police, with her stepson and a baby that wasn't legally hers.

"With all that, she was not even heading toward Shanghai, toward home.

"Instead, she was heading upriver, deeper into the heart of China...."

AS FRESH AS TODAY'S HEADLINES -- THE CHILLING, SUSPENSEFUL STORY OF A MOTHER, A NEWLY ADOPTED CHILD, AND A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT TRYING TO SEPARATE THEM...

For Allison Turk, the journey to China to claim the daughter she is adopting had been a trying experience, a series of false starts and long waits. Forced to travel without her husband, she makes the trip with her nine-year-old stepson. She hopes it will be a bonding experience, but so far this hasn't happened.

When she finally holds the little girl in her arms, however, she knows that the trip has been worth all the effort and ag gravation. In only two days, she will board a plane for home, taking with her the greatest pride and joy she has ever known.

Then suddenly everything unravels. Summoned to an emergency meeting of the adoptive parents, Allison is told a mistake has been made -- a "clerical error." The Americans have been given healthy infants rather than children with special needs, for which they are technically qualified, and they are told they must exchange their babies for different children. Allison is faced with a terrible decision: Should she capitulate and surrender the child she has come to love intensely, or risk an attempt to reach the American consulate in Shanghai, where she might at least have a chance to negotiate and keep her baby?

Joining with several other American couples caught in the same dilemma, Allison chooses to run. There is a more sinister reason underlying the nightmare than they know about, and their flight spawns a massive manhunt led by a ruthless police colonel wielding all the terrifying apparatus of a police state. What ensues is tense, dramatic, and totally believable -- a race in which Allison not only struggles with her infant daughter and recalcitrant stepson, but is caught in a political tug-of-war that forces her to display a depth of courage and a strength of will she had never known she possessed.

Inspired by a true-life incident, China Run takes the reader on a breathtaking chase across China that is gripping, compulsively readable, and frighteningly real.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #771365 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-05
• Released on: 2002-08-06
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Amazon.com Review
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. This courageous but foolhardy attempt seems doomed to fail; escape seems impossible, especially in a country whose language, law, and customs they can't begin to comprehend. One by one, all the fugitives except Allison and her little family are picked off, captured, or killed, including their unlikely allies--a tour guide, a fisherman, a gangster, a country doctor--all of whom are as vividly rendered as China itself. Driving this riveting, compelling adventure story to its heart-stopping conclusion, Ball turns in one of the most exciting thrillers of the season! --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
Ball (Empires of Sand) explores the dark side of Americans adopting Chinese babies in his compulsively readable thriller. When Allison Turk, who has traveled to Jiangsu province with her stepson, Tyler, to adopt the infant Wen Li, is told that she has been given the wrong baby, she decides to make a run for it rather than give up her beautiful daughter. Single mother Ruth Pollard along with Claire Cameron and Claire's husband, Nash, also choose to flee with their babies. Hoping to reach an American consulate, they become increasingly tangled in the Chinese heartland, as they trek across the country pursued by the forces of a bureaucratic government. The case attracts international attention, and Ruth's cousin, an American senator, begins to questions China's most favored nation status. A score of unforgettable characters provide portraits of both bravery and treachery: the selfless guide, Yu Ling, and her peasant family; the military men, led by implacable Colonel Quan and his subordinate Ma Lin, who finally ignores direct commands; and greedy peasants, petty thieves and murderers. Much of the novel's strength derives from the author's remarkable evocation of Chinese language and Chinese landscape, whether it's in mud and monsoon or a beautiful monastery with beatific monks. Before the last breathless page, readers will encounter panic, killings, a ship collision and a devastating revelation of the truth behind the government's action. Though the subject matter is delicate, this sweeping odyssey of action and sentiment set in exotic and gritty locales cries out for filming.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Ball follows up his hit debut, Empires of Sand (1999), with an intricate tale of kidnapping and black-market adoptions in China. Unable to conceive, Allison Turke and her husband, Marshall, have finally made the decision to adopt. After several disappointments, they have received a photograph of their baby daughter and are preparing to make the trip to China. A few days before they are to leave, Marshall becomes ill and is unable to travel. Allison decides to take along her nine-year-old stepson, Tyler, hoping that they can use the time to improve their relationship. Once in China, they are kept virtual prisoners in their hotel, as Allison and other parents wait with their babies for final adoption papers. Informed by the orphanage that a mistake has been made and that their babies must be exchanged, Allison and two other women decide to run. Joined by their Chinese interpreter, they travel across the country with the police on their trail. This gripping, tightly woven suspense novel is for all public libraries. Nanci Milone Hill, Lucius Beebe Memorial Lib., Wakefield, MA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

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 done. Having been there/done that twice now (I am Mom to 2 daughters from China), I was easily transported back through the images described in his writing. I could 'see' things, 'feel' things, even 'smell' the markets and cooking scents. The book is rich with images that evoke a strong sense of place, and add much to the story.

As a work of fiction, I have found myself recommending the book highly -- much to my surprise.

Misleading--and badly written, too
I've read the excerpt of this book that's available on publishers' web sites. I adopted a child from China four years ago, and am always happy to see articles and books that present the process--which isn't perfect--honestly and insightfully. China Run does not.

Adoption from China takes time, but it is a well-established program with clear, uniform rules. There are many agencies in the United States who have superb in-China staff and "call us collect any time" policies. China itself works hard to be hospitable to visitors. Parents aren't left stranded, with no choice but to flee to the countryside. And I know of no instances or accusations of baby-selling--the smallest suggestion of such a thing in any country halts international adoption very quickly.

Are there unhappy surprises in real life? Sure. But overwhelmingly, adoptive parents have been treated fairly, even warmly and generously, by Chinese officials and by American consular representatives. Even in the aftermath of the U.S. bombing of a Chinese consulate, great care was taken on both sides to defuse the tense situation, protect adoptive parents and children, and make the process succeed.

Of course thrillers are based on improbable and ugly situations. But the imagined events in China Run ask the reader to swallow not only a wildly false, but a thoroughly mean-spirited slanting of reality.

Happily, the book is also very poorly written. There are cliches at every turn. Unable to find graceful ways to avoid the dreaded "said," author David W. Ball makes sure everyone snarls, snaps, exclaims, blurts out, murmurs, etc. One of my favorites is "'Dang it!' Tyler cursed." Temples throb. The author takes 34 words to tell us what "she's a keeper" means, fishwise. People "sob uncontrollably," and "slump to the floor." It's a composition teacher's nightmare--or, if you're in the mood, laugh riot.

I read a fair amount of junk fiction and enjoy it. If I have to sweat through this whole crummy thing in order to qualify to review it, I will. But I expect to spend a fair amount of time (in Brown's words) "retching, needing to throw up." As opposed, presumably to the range of other kinds of retching. He certainly provides plenty of opportunity.

Offensive to this adoptive parent
While I respectfully acknowledge the creative process, I must say that as an adoptive parent of a child from China, this book offended me. We (adoptive parents) appear to be desperate people who will do anything beyond reason to get that child, legally or not. Chinese government officials are misrepresented (at best) and demonized (at worst). Neither group has any resemblance to their real life counterparts.

Aside from the poor character portrayals, the bureaucracy portrayed in the work is nothing like the stable, fairly predictable nature of the China adoption organization. While mistakes happen from time to time, actions such as those encountered by Allison are sensationalistic beyond belief.

Personally, I find the "dark side of Chinese adoptions" to be continually explaining what the process is really like and rebuking stereotypes that should have disappeared a long time ago. The only thing "frighteningly real" about this book is that a prospective adoptive parent may read it and turn away from a wonderfully run, well organized adoption program such as China currently has.

Just my two jiao.