Customer Reviews

Dragon's Gate

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dragon's Gate is a very well written book that includes varying sensations that range from love to hate and from frustration to pride. Through this book you become conscious of many things that you would have disregarded if this book were not written. This book gives you a clear understanding of the hardships and discrimination faced by Chinese workers whilst building the railroad. The author, Laurence Yep's use of figurative language is what I like most about this book. He makes inanimate objects come alive through personification. At one point in the story, he calls the cold a living thing and has it snatch the warmth from one of his characters' bodies. Yep compares different things in an almost poetic manner. He compares the wooden bunks on a ship to coffins and another line from the book is: `...I saw him like a black shadow within the swirling snow.' I also like the way Yep uses Chinese superstitions in his book. These Chinese sayings make it easier for you (the reader) to connect with the characters in the book, as they are Chinese.

| would recommend this book to people between the ages of 10 and 16. I believe that people older than 16 will find this book really boring because this book is written at a Middle School level. Children under the age of 10 however will not be able to understand the depth of the book and they may not understand the concept of discrimination - a concept which is crucial for the text. In my opinion, the book is great just as it is and any changes may ruin the book.

Dragon's Gate is definitley one of the best books I have read; its historical, yet realistic and something I can compare myself to. This book is about a young 14 year old boy who dreams of going to America,to gain his skills from this New World, come back and help the economy of his country--at least thats what he hopes to get. Otto hopes things will turn out so well because of his social status in his home land. You see, in China, his family is highly respected (because of their wealth and high order family). On the contrary, in America they are treated simply as slaves, laborers, inferiors: nothing else. So, now here in America, Otto, must learn to adapt, and overcome his fears of the cruelty of this New World. Meaning that he now must learn to survive and get along with many different kinds of peoples while also fighting to understand his new surrounding. In conclusion, I would like to reccomend this book to anyone who has time to spare and read a really well written book! Its just a really good book! :)

Dragon's Gate is a truly enlightening book that I have had the pleasure of reading. Both the plot and the excellently mastered figurative language in this novel make it a great book to read. Laurence Yep has beyond the doubt mastered the art of personification, transforming inanimate objects into living and breathing things. Although figurative language is a valuable asset to any story, it alone cannot alone create a page turner. That's where an elaborately planned out storyline based on non-fictional information and events that occurred in history play a major role. This gives a flavor of reality to the story making it all the more enjoyable.

Laurence Yep begins off his novel by sweeping the reader away into the exotic orients of a land known as the Middle Kingdom (now known as China). We look through the eyes of a wealthy young man with what some may consider a dark past. An outcast at his own home, Otter truly seeks acceptance and struggles to find his own identity in a world built on racial discrimination. We follow Otter through the darkest and brightest of days and gradually grow close to this novel's protagonist as we find that we can relate to him in many different ways. This is the main reason I that I (personally) found this novel so compelling.

I would recommend this book to readers with exceptional reading skills (grade 6 and up) in order to really appreciate the excellent figurative language used in the story. I would also recommend this book to people who are unfamiliar to the abuse and mistreatment that the Chinese faced while building the transcontinental railroad. I think this book is great the way it is and would not change a single word in it for I think everybody would enjoy it the way it is.

Dragon Gate is a heartbreaking story about a young Chinese boy's life America. Otter had to move to America after he got into some trouble in China, and worked on the railroad during the industrial revolution. This compelling story is about the hardships, clash of cultures, and discrimination that Otter had to deal with. It is a deeply moving story that I enjoyed immensely. It is a story that many people can relate to, which is why I encourage that it should be read. The themes and lessons in this book are very poignant, and relate to everyone on some level. The Characters are very life like and seem almost like real people, and you start to see a little of yourself in Otter. You can't help but put yourself in the characters shoes, and imagine what you would have done in their place. The words and descriptions pull you into the story and make you feel as if you were there; going through every thing Otter was going through.

I would recommend this book to anyone above middle school level and to teenagers especially. Older readers can identify more with the feelings of change, loss, and not fitting in that Otter goes through. At one point in our lives we all have an idol that we try to emulate, and sometimes when that idol does not live up to are high standards we feel let down and betrayed. Otter goes through these feelings with his Uncle Foxfire, and the story makes you realize that our idols are only people and that we should allow them to make mistakes. Even though the book seems simple it is the hidden messages in it that make it such a good read. The story teaches us the lesson of forgiveness, of standing up for what you believe in, but it also enlightens us that it is okay to be scared and make mistakes along the way.

Have you been searching for a book that helps you learn on what to do to become a man? Look no further because Dragon's Gate is a book that you can't put down!
A teenage Chinese boy named Otter lives with his Mother while his Uncle Foxfire and Father go to "The Land of the Golden Mountain" [also known as America] to help build a transcontinental railroad. When Otter kills a Manchu, he gets in trouble and will not go to America. Somehow, he escapes with strangers and he went there because he wanted to avoid his punishment. He also wanted to see his Father. As Otter progresses in building the railroad, he developes character and really impresses his Father. Otter fights for rights to be able to have less work and larger breaks, but the atrocious Kilroy [the "Master"] does dreadful things. The only way to find out the horrible actions and the rest of the rest of the inspiring story [the consequences of Otter's actions and the way he talks about his Uncle] is to read Dragon's Gate!
I highly recommend kids from grades 5/up to read this book because it is very advanced. The events that I like this are the decisions Otter tried to work out and the hard work Otter demonstrated when he did work. I liked these events because Otter's character really developed. Dragon's Gate is an amazing book. If you want adventure, Dragon's Gate is the specific book to choose!

This truly excellent book, Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep, is a magnificently written book that most certainly deserves a five star rating. In this adventure filled-book, Otter, a boy from the Middle Kingdom, China, is forced to join his father, Squeaky, and his Uncle Foxfire in America, the Land of the Golden Mountain. Back in China, Otter's father and uncle were always beheld as heros and legends, but Otter soon learns the truth that Squeaky and Foxfire are no greater than the rest of the Chinese laborers working on the enormous task of completing the transcontinental railroad. To make matters worse, Otter has barely any friends, he gains no respect from the other workers, and has had no expirience with physical labor before in his life. In his time of need Otter's own uncle deserts him and refuses to help him in any way.
The headman of this massive project is an almost heartless man named Kilroy. Kilroy pushes the Chinese workers to exaustion and gives them a measly amount of supplies. When Otter's father is blinded by an accident on the job, Otter forces himself to work harder and help out more. Eventually Otter gains more friends, he earns respect from his fellow workers and also ajusts to the backbreaking work that he and the other workers have to do.
In the end, Otter and his uncle take on a mission that will determine the fate of the entire camp and change Otter's life forever in a way that Otter will never forget.
If you like to read adventure-filled, action-packed, stupendously written books, Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep is the perfect book for you!

Dragon's Gate was truly one of the most entertaining and enjoyable stories that I have ever read. I enjoyed reading about the life of the Chinese men during that time. I had never imagined that they had to face this much discrimination. Believe it or not, I thought only African Americans were discriminated against at that time. I also never realized how much Opium had affected the Chinese people once they were introduced to it. Many of the characters in Dragon's Gate had to adapt to a new lifestyle in which they weren't accustomed to. Therefore, it was very interesting to read about how the characters evolved throughout the story, and how their personalities changed in order to adjust to life with Opium and working for westerners.

I would recommend this story to people of all ages. I believe that it delivers very important messages and makes readers aware of what was actually going on at that time, and what the Chinese people had been through. Dragon's Gate gives us very wise statements like being careful what you wish for, and thinking twice before you do something. I believe that those are very important messages that every reader should gain knowledge of. I myself learned so much about life and how to endure the harsh treatment of others with dignity. I think that everybody that reads this book will gain a whole new perspective on life and how to accept the challenges and obstacles you face every day with perseverance and wisdom.

Dragons Gate is a great book about a Chinese boy named Otter who travels to America to fight a mountain called the Tiger.
...
I think that this is a great book. It shows how people will put others in front of themselves to help everybody else. This book is very interesting because it shows how people where treated when they first came over to America and how employers and other Americans treated them. But the part I liked the most about this book was when Otter was hated and nobody cared what happened to him or his family and he had no friends. He kept trying and working hard and he eventually earned some peoples trust and respect. Then they worked together, and they all gained something that they all could use.

i loved this one too! i highly recommend the whole Young Family "series," incl. Dragon's Gate, Dragonwings, The Serpent's Children, Mountain Light, Child of the Owl, and Thief of Hearts. it traces the roots of a Chinese family from the Manchus in China to the modern age in California. anyway, this book makes a link between China and California. the emotions felt in this book are very real.

I really enjoyed this book. It's great. The characters are made almost real, and it does sound just like some people to give no credit to the people who are really behind some of the greatest things in Amerida, in this case, the Chinese's work on the railroad. I think it's outrageous how they were cheated out of less pay than the westerners when they were doing the dirty work. Another point is that the Chinese didn't stick up for themselves after their first strike. I sure wish they had, but I know that those people were intimidating. A great book. You've got to read it. If you don't want to buy it, get it from the library. They'll have it. Ours did, and our library isn't very big.