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| View Larger Image | Dragon's Gate (Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1867)
by Laurence Yep
| | List Price: | $6.99 |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 169789 | | Studio: | HarperTrophy | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Reading Level: | Young Adult | | Number Of Pages: | 352 | | Publication Date: | May 30, 1995 | | Publisher: | HarperTrophy |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
In 1867, Otter travels from Three Willows Village in China to California -- the Land of the Golden Mountain. There he will join his father and uncle. In spite of the presence of family, Otter is a stranger among the other Chinese in this new land. And where he expected to see a land of goldfields, he sees only vast, cold whiteness. But Otter's dream is to learn all he can, take the technology back to the Middle Kingdom, and free China from the Manchu invaders. Otter and the others board a machine that will change his life -- a train for which he would open the Dragon's Gate. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 48 reviews)
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Quite Fair 
Dragon's Gate seems to be quite the marvelous book to read. I always favored the Chinese culture, and it was pleasing to learn more about it. Though I didn't really understand half of it. It didn't seem to get through my head when it was mentioned Otter was adopted by a new woman, who was married to Squeaky, but had feelings for another man, his father. I wasn't exactly sure whether his adopted father was Squeaky or not, which threw me off course slightly. However, the book was very enjoyable. It was somewhat humorous, since Braid seems to be a gurgler when someone says something wrong. It was strange though, how they called America 'The Golden Mountain.' I was somewhat confused more than half the time, but I was able to understand the story. It was exciting when he acctually had the chance to visit 'The Golden Mountain,' as well. Out of all events, I liked three the most. I adored how Braid continued to clear his throat and gurgle while Otter's friend carried on with speaking. It was amazing to learn that a special drug, opium, was sold in China after the Opium War, causing several addicts spending their money, resulting to poverty. What I truly liked the most though was the fact that Otter's father had worse English than Otter, when his father had been working on 'The Golden Mountain' for years. I would definately recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction, at ages ten and up.
March 27, 2008 | |
Discovery and Adventure in the Dragon's Gate 
The Chinese culture has always been fascinated by dragons. They have many sculptures, drawings and stories about dragons. The book Dragon Keeper is no exception. It is about a slave girl who befriends a dragon and goes out on a quest to get to a mystical place called Ocean.
The story starts with a lowly slave girl living on a mountain in the far borders of the Han Empire (which was the ruling force back then in China.) The girl lives with the Imperial Dragon Keeper, her master, Lan. It was Lan's job to take care of the imperial dragons, but he got lazy and the slave girl took his job and took care of the beasts. Then, when one of the two last dragons die, the girl feels remorse and starts to take better care of the last one. Then, one day, the girl is forced to escape with the dragon, when an evil dragon hunter finds her and the dragon out.
During the long journey to Ocean, the girl learns her name, befriends people (who turn into her enemies), and fights villains. The book was very enjoyable because of its excitement when you didn't know what was going to happen next. The riddles sometimes go unsolved in the book, which I really didn't like, but if you do solve them it makes you want to read it more. Over all, the book was pretty good, and if you like dragons or the Chinese culture, you should get the book. Dragon Keeper had many mysteries and surprises around every corner, so stay close to the dragons, but keep away from the tigers.
October 10, 2007 | |
worst book i have ever read! 
This book is officialy the most boring and worst book that i have ever read. I didnt find any part of this book exciting or good. The whole thing was boring. I had to read this book for school with a group of 5 or 6 other people. Every single person in the group hated the book. I hated this book.
November 28, 2006 | |
Foreign Orbits
Dragon's Gate is a book that orbits around the great bond of friendship that can ease pain. I am very fond of the characters as they are who grab the reader to read on. The book takes place at the time of America's construction of the railroad (mid 1800's) and as we all know many Chinese men were the reason for its climb. So we follow the main character, Otter in his journey to the land where his father and uncle work and with him meet many of his disappointments and surprises. I myself have learned a lot as the author dresses the reader in Otter's shoes. We see the unruly way the Chinese men were treated despite all that they lost to give to The Land of the Golden Mountain (America) what they had planned. I also appreciate the author's great talent of figurative language. The scenery created with his words really helps compose the outlook of whatever situation the author is trying to describe; which in my opinion aids the reader in "living" the story.
I recommend this book to whoever is (or vaguely is) familiar with the situation occurring at that time. The book is an easy read and students starting from middle school level and above might enjoy and understand its adventure. Dragon's Gate will definitely enhance the readers knowledge of the situation at that time especially because history never recorded the happenings. As wonderful as the language use was in the book, it still felt that it needed to be more tangible to the reader, and the events happened too fast you could find yourself lost a couple of times at each chapter. Some situations were very vague.
April 30, 2006 | |
Oraib's Review - A Page Turner
Dragon's Gate was an interesting read. The characters came to life, and the situations brought upon a reality which no one could have possibly imagined to be real. I loved the descriptive language that was used throughout the story. It made things look real through the perspective of another person. In a way, it gave me a better feel of the atmosphere and setting. The characters itself were charming yet original or life-like. I say this because we often feel that the characters in most stories are too non-realistic and we don't often find similarities between us and the characters. The characters in Dragon's Gate allowed most of the readers to learn from a more realistic perspective and feeling which also gave room to finding similarities and familiar emotions we often face in every day life. For example, in reality, how would we feel about sacrificing our lives to save others? I for one, must say that the very thought scares me yet at the same time we feel we must. This book makes you ponder how you value yourself, and as you read through the enchanting pages you find yourself asking, "Did I do the same thing when I was put in this situation?" or, "Is this what you really do?" and so forth. You may also find that as you read the book, your feelings unwind and you find yourself bound to the characters themselves.
I would personally recommend this book to ages 12 and above. I believe that it's both enriching and informative and will allow them to broaden their minds while receiving a general knowledge and understanding in return.
April 30, 2006 | |
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