Eleven year old Anna’s former teacher and her husband have been approved to adopt a child from China.  As an Asian, Anna gets to accompany them to help with translation and the baby.  She is excited because she hopes to see the orphanage from where her little sister was adopted and to immerse herself in Chinese culture.  At home, Anna is one of two Asian students.  In China, she does not stand out at all.  To help raise money for the orphanage, Anna and friend Andee, make fortune cookies.  Andee surprises Anna with a gift of paper fortune cookies to open each day of the trip.  Anna has a journal to record her observations and ideas for her oral history project.  This book has unexpected depth dealing with adoption, being a minority, adjusting to middle school, and families.  A pronunciation guide for Chinese word and phrases is at the beginning of the book.  Words are listed in order of appearance.  A recipe for fortune cookies is in the back.  Black and white illustrations are a perfect match for the story.  This is a sequel to The Year of the Book and The Year of the Baby.  Coming soon is The Year of the Sisters.  They chronicle Anna’s life beginning as a 4th grader, although they are enjoyable even if read out of order.