Saturday, June 09, 2007
Dragon's Gate by Lawrence Yep
Friday, April 27, 2007 "Y" Author I heard Lawrence Yep speak at the Great Salt Lake Book Festival last fall. He was so delightful that I immediately bought a book for him to sign. Not only did he write a short note in the book, he also drew a cartoon dragon. What a guy! "Dragon's Gate" is the third in a series of eight books called "The Golden Mountain Chronicles." The Golden Mountain stand for America. In this Newberry Honor winner, Yep tells the story of 15-year-old boy who is forced to leave China after killing a Manchu and joins his father and uncle digging a tunnel for the transcontinental railroad. Otter soon learns that America is not really a golden mountain, but through the course of the book, he develops wisdom, discipline, determination and courage. The story of an actual strike by the Chinese workers is well-told here. It took a while for me to really get into the book, but then I became captivated by Yep's straightforward prose and his wonderful characters. His descriptions of the harsh, frozen world of the Sierras drew such vivid pictures in my mind. Isn't it amazing how so many groups of people emigrated to America and played such a vital part in building the country in spite of such horrible treatment? Learning more about this little-known episode of American history is just one more reason to read the book. Rating: 4 Posted by Framed at 6:49 PM 4 comments: booklogged said... Why did we both buy the same book? We didn't coordinate that very well, did we? Anyway, it sounds like a good book. 7:22 PM Tristi Pinkston said... Laurence Yep is one of my favorite authors. He has such a way of putting things and sucking his readers in to other cultures. 9:15 PM Joy said... Great review...I'm intrigued! :) 6:52 AM Cassie said... He was probably the least interesting speaker at the festival but this book does sound interesting. |
# posted by Framed @ 6:01 PM 
