Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See is a fabulous book. It has been a while since I read such a great book.

The story takes place in nineteenth-century China. It is about the pairing of Lily and Snow Flower as laotong or "old sames" This is a matching for a lifelong friendship. Both girls undergo footbinding and arranged marriages. They share hopes, loss, loneliness, and joys and tragedies of motherhood. Their lives take many twists and turns, and so does their friendship. They use the fan to write the secret language of nu shu to communicate out of the reach of men.

I predict that this will be made into a movie. I highly recommend this book! Another book bites the dust.