A young woman befriends a Chinese family despite the racism and fear that overwhelm the residents of her small western mining town at the end of the gold rush.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-A novel set at the end of the gold rush in southern Oregon. Two sisters, Angelina and Evangeline, befriend the first Chinese immigrant to attend their school and her family. Several of their classmates, including Angelina's best friend, are hostile and rude. Their feelings are echoes of those of the townspeople, who are divided between those who detest the Chinese and those who tolerate their presence. The strengths of the novel include clear descriptions of the town, vocations, and technology of the period. Economic fears about the end of the gold rush and white settlers' erroneous assumptions about the Chinese culture are shown to be at the root of much violence. However, the characters tend to be too broadly drawn. Angelina, who provides the first-person narration, is almost impossibly heroic for her time, flouting conventions and risking her life to try single-handedly to stop a riot and the burning of the Chinese community. Liza Ketchum's The Gold Rush (Little, Brown, 1996) discusses the violence the Chinese miners experienced, and Laurence Yep's Dragonwings (1975) and Dragon's Gate (1993, both HarperCollins) include Chinese characters that have more flesh and personality. Pair Heisel's book with them for a balanced picture of the period.-Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
The touching story of two girls prevailing over different cultures, facing racism and critical townspeople to form a beautiful friendship together.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Age old problems,
By A Customer
This review is from: Precious Gold, Precious Jade (Hardcover)
Precious Gold, Precious Jade is a tale of the age old problems of racism, prejudice, and intolerance as faced by young people and their families in the gold rush days of the mid 1800's. The remarkable use of the language of the time provides the reader with a rare glimpse into the past. The book could serve as a useful tool in opening a discussion with youth of current problems in America and ways of dealing with them. Very enjoyable reading.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting take on the Asian Amercan experience,
By A Customer
This review is from: Precious Gold, Precious Jade (Hardcover)
This is a very interesting book following the difficult friendship between two young girls living during the Gold Rush. The fact that one girl is of Western European descent and the other is of Chinese descent makes this a very complicated friendship. This novel looks at rascism from a new perspective. It is also an interesting take on frontier life for women. The only downside of this book is that there is a slightly affected accent and odd placement of colloquialisms that can be distracting.
4.0 out of 5 stars
My review,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Precious Gold, Precious Jade (Paperback)
This book is a very good book. I really enjoyed it. Sometimes it could be a bit boring but it alwayz got better later. I would definately recommend this book to other kids. I wish there were pictures in this book though because sometimes I am not so sure what a part is supposed to look like. I have a paperback version of the book. I think the cover is better than the hardback one because the girls are prettier. I really liked reading this book, you should read it too.
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