Gateway [Hardcover]

Sharon Shinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2009

As a Chinese adoptee in St. Louis, teenage Daiyu often feels out of place. When an elderly Asian jewelry seller at a street fair shows her a black jade ring?and tells her that ?black jade? translates to ?Daiyu??she buys it as a talisman of her heritage. But it?s more than that; it?s magic. It takes Daiyu through a gateway into a version of St. Louis much like 19th century China. Almost immediately she is recruited as a spy, which means hours of training in manners and niceties and sleight of hand. It also means stealing time to be with handsome Kalen, who is in on the plan. There?s only one problem. Once her task is done, she must go back to St. Louis and leave him behind forever. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—When Daiyu, a St. Louis high school student adopted as a baby from China, buys a black jade ring from an old woman and then walks through the Gateway Arch, her life instantly changes. The Arch has been replaced by an enormous pagodalike gate, and most of the people around her are Chinese. A young man assures her that everything is fine and takes her to the people who have been expecting her. Daiyu discovers that the world she knows is only one of many "iterations" created by contentious gods who wanted different versions of the world when it was created. Because she is Chinese, she has been brought to this particular iteration, a place where the ruling class is Chinese, to help eliminate one of the gods' rogue servants. The fantasy is coherent and engaging and has the potential for sequels that explore other iterations. Shinn is a prolific and skillful writer, and the world in which Daiyu finds herself is full of interesting detail, though its use of Chinese culture is superficial. The story itself moves slowly. Daiyu is placed into the household of an upper-class woman who claims the teen as her niece because she is desperate to get certain invitations only available to families with girls being introduced into society. Daiyu falls in love with the young man who rescued her and is also courted by a wealthy suitor. In the end, it is the hint of a happy ending to the slight love story that will satisfy most readers.—Barbara Scotto, Children's Literature New England, Brookline, MA
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Review

"...intelligent and convincing characterization..." --Kirkus

"The fantasy is coherent and engaging...Shinn is a prolific and skillful writer." --School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1 edition (October 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670011789
• ISBN-13: 978-0670011780
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Shinn is a journalist who works for a trade magazine. Her first novel, The Shapechanger's Wife, was selected by Locus as the best first fantasy novel of 1995. She has won the William C. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, and was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has lived in the Midwest most of her life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy with an Asian setting, November 8, 2009

By 

HHK "Fantasy/History Fan" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gateway (Hardcover)

OK- I love Sharon Shinn. All of her book are automatic pre-orders. Gateway is one of her YA Fantasy novels. Since her other YA Fantasy Summers at Castle Auburn is one of my all time favorites, I was eager to read this book.

Our heroine is Asian and her adventure takes place in a parallel Universe with Ancient Chinese overtone. As usual a gentle romance accompanies the fantasy adventure.

Although the premise and setting are great, somehow the execution was dull. The usual depth and richness of a Shinn novel was missing. The adventure was flimsy. The romance felt forced. My feelings towards the heroine were lukewarm.
I am sorry to give this book just 3 stars.

If you want to get a sample of Ms. Shinn at her best- try out her anthology of novellas that was just released :Quatrain

If you want a better written YA Historical Fantasy with an Asian heroine in an Ancient Chinese setting try out Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life on Jai, January 3, 2010

By 

Lisa Mary Routhier (Naugatuck, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gateway (Hardcover)

I don't usually read alot of SF/fantasy, but I thought this was a fun, interesting YA novel. It definately makes me want to check out more by this author and explore this genre further. It wasn't long, under 300 pgs, and I think it would be enjoyable and appropriate for any age. It's something that I would like to share with my daughter. I enjoyed it for many reasons: Daiyu's adventure in the other iteration is both like and unlike Earth in many intersting ways. It leads you to ask yourself questions about the world we live in. Just how different is Jai from Earth, anyway? The explanations of the ins and outs of travel between iterations are simple and not bogged down with alot of nonsence facts. The descriptions of Jai were fun; I liked the world it created in my head. I really enjoyed the author's writing style. I give it four stars because it was an enjoyable read that was light but also thought provoking. I skipped the fifth star because the story didn't always move along quickly, and it took awhile for me to feel connected to the main character, Daiyu. A solid four stars, I'm glad I found this one.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review from The Neverending Shelf, October 29, 2009

By 

Kate B. "The Book Monsters" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gateway (Hardcover)

There were so many features in this book for me to love: the cover, world travel, setting, etc. Yet, for some reason, most of this novel just fell flat. While Shinn's premise was really interesting and creative, the pacing of the novel was just not fast enough for me. I kept waiting for something exciting to occur which would fully grab my interest, but it never happened. In addition, the novel was pretty straight forward. I had hoped that there would be some great twist, but sadly, that did not happen.

Despite a few flaws, I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were unique, and I love the idea of world travel. I am not sure if this novel will have a sequel, but I really hope it does. There are many questions that went unanswered and with an open ending, I would really like to learn more.