Timothy and the Dragon's Gate [Hardcover]

Adrienne Kress (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Timothy Freshwater’s father can’t control him, his mother is always out of town, and now the boy too smart for his own good has been expelled from the last school in the city. After he meets Mr. Shen, a mysterious Chinese mailroom clerk at his father’s office, Timothy winds up in more trouble than he has ever gotten himself into. It turns out the diminutive Mr. Shen is a dragon. Forced to take human shape for a thousand years, Mr. Shen cannot resume his true form until he scales an ancient Dragon’s Gate during a festival for the 125th year of the dragon. Now Timothy finds himself Mr. Shen’s latest keeper: stalked by a ninja, and chased by a menacing trio of black taxicabs. And when Mr. Shen falls into the wrong hands, Timothy must rescue the dragon from a fleet of Chinese pirate junks. All hope seems lost until a strange-looking black brig with red sails called the Ironic Gentleman appears on the horizon. Relying on his own ingenuity and an annoying new ally, a girl called Alex, Timothy must take on the fleet and its evil commander, the Man in the Beige Linen Suit. Told in Adrienne Kress’s distinctive, sparkling prose, Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate is a humorous and astounding story about a boy who ultimately uncovers his own ability to love and opens his heart to the world around him.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Adrienne Kress is a graduate of the University of Toronto and has studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Her work has been performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, among other venues in Canada and the UK. Following in her family tradition, Adrienne has also been a drama teacher, focusing on eight-to-twelve year olds. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

Christopher Lane expertly guides listeners though this mixture of fantasy and action-packed adventure. Eleven-year-old Timothy Freshwater is a surly and often-irritating individual. After being expelled from every school in the city, Timothy inadvertently becomes involved in helping the elderly Mr. Shen (who is really a dragon) get back to China so that he can return to his dragon form. Lane imbues the legions of quirky characters--a notorious Chinese pirate, a fish herder, a kindly billionaire, a ninja named Emily, and others--with completely different personalities. Lane's narration keeps this spirited tale with its many twists on track. L.A.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Weinstein Books; 1 edition (January 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602860238
• ISBN-13: 978-1602860230
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy companion to Alex, January 11, 2009

By 

Alice Loweecey "eclectic writer" (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Timothy and the Dragon's Gate (Hardcover)

In "The Secret Garden," Frances Hodgson Burnett created Mary Lennox, a snarky, attitude-filled brat who finally got a clue.

Why am I talking about a 97-year-old classic when this review is supposed to be about Adrienne Kress' new book, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate? Go with me here. Timothy's favorite response to just about anything is, "Whatever." If Mary Lennox were dropped into the modern world, I'd bet money that "Whatever" would be hers as well.

Timothy isn't an underachieving punk. Just the opposite: he's brilliant, insightful, and bored. Adults can't deal with his intellect and attitude and he's been expelled from every single school in town. His dad is ineffectual, his mom is off pursuing a mediocre acting career. When Timothy has to accompany his dad to work because no sitter will come within a mile of him, he falls into an internship for his dad's reclusive boss.

Oh, about the dragon. And the gate. And all the possible adventures that combination conjures up. One might think Timothy--this unlikable eleven-year-old snot--makes the combination doomed to failure.

Don't be fooled. As Kress did to Alex in her first book, "Alex and the Ironic Gentleman," Timothy is thrown into danger and adventures. He has to rely on his intellect to make it through--with the dragon in tow. (Abandon hope. I'm not going to reveal it. About the dragon, that is. And that's why I can't quote my favorite line: the dragon says it, and I'd spoil the plot.) In the process, Timothy messes things up to a point where he admits he can't blame his weak father, his absentee mother, his teachers, or anyone but himself.

No, no, no. Don't groan. There are no heavy-handed Moral Lessons for Today's Youth here. (Thank you, Ms. Kress!) Instead, there are ninjas. Fish-herders. Architects who may not be what they seem. (Fish-herders and architects. I swear. What fun!) There are pirates, too, of course. Along with mysterious Chinese gambling-house owners and three black taxicabs that shouldn't be able to do everything they do. And I guessed wrong on the identity of the secret villain. I love it when books surprise me.

What makes Timothy and the Dragon's Gate stand out is Kress' ability to give us an unlikable hero and charm us into rooting for him. Timothy doesn't turn into a sweet little angel after all his adventures. He's still himself, but like Mary Lennox, he gets a clue. Kress has the knack of writing child characters who could be my next-door neighbors. Then she mixes them up with delightful fantasy and just enough danger to keep me turning the page to see how they succeed--or temporarily fail. It's not spoiling the book to reveal that it has very satisfying ending.

I'm a cynical horror writer who runs from sweetness and light like, well, like a dragon's chasing me. (I couldn't resist.) But like "Alex and the Ironic Gentleman," Timothy and the Dragon's Gate charmed me into staying up way too late to finish it. No syrup here. Instead, there's adventure, derring-do, attitude, and danger. All wrapped up in a clever and fascinating take on the reluctant hero, courage, loyalty, and--of course--dragons.

Don't miss it.

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Take On The Chinese Dragon Festival, January 13, 2012

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Timothy and the Dragon's Gate (Hardcover)

I am an 11 year-old boy. I just finished Timothy And The Dragon's Gate. It is one of the best books I have read. Timothy has been kicked out of every school in the city. His dad has probably the most boring job ever, and his mom is never around. When his dad goes on a trip, he leaves Timothy with his neighbor, Sir Bazalgette. When Mr. Shen, Sir Bazalgette's colleague, tells his story Timothy is sucked into one of the best adventures one could hope for. I like that this story is fast-paced, and the characters don't stop and stay in the same place for too long. When Timothy meets Alex and the crew from Alex And The Ironic Gentleman, his story gets even better. After Mr. Shen is abducted, Timothy and his friends must journey to China to save him. I also like that this book is funny. There is a lot of sarcasm, which I think is funny. I would recommend this book to my friends, in fact, I already have.

2.0 out of 5 stars Audio version, September 1, 2011

By 

Kat at Fantasy Literature - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Timothy and the Dragon's Gate (Hardcover)

Timothy Freshwater, 11 years old, has been expelled from the last school in the city. He's played too many pranks and his teachers say he's "too smart for his own good." Since he's now out of school, Mr. Bore, the CEO of the company his dad works for, recruits Timothy as his intern so Timothy can teach Mr. Bore how to make people like him. In Mr. Bore's office, Timothy also meets Mr. Shen, a small Chinese man who happens to be an enslaved dragon. In order to free him so he can regain his dragon form, someone must steal a golden key from Mr. Bore and take Mr. Shen to China so he can pass through the Dragon's Gate. That someone turns out to be Timothy, but it's not as easy as he hopes because he's being pursued by a Ninja and three mysterious black taxicabs.

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate is Adrienne Kress's second children's novel, following her debut Alex and the Ironic Gentleman. Timothy and the Dragon's Gate stands alone, but Alex, the heroine of the first novel, turns up somewhere in the middle of this story.

I read one third of Timothy and the Dragon's Gate and then I called it quits. I had three problems with the book. I would have been able to get past one or two of them, but this particular triumvirate was just too much and I eventually decided that there are better ways to spend my time.

My first issue was that I disliked Timothy. He's sullen, cynical, and completely disinterested in other people. All he wants to do is watch TV. He's a brat. As far as I could tell, Timothy had no positive personality traits. Based on the blurb for the book, I was expecting Timothy to be clever, but I didn't think he was particularly clever. The author tells us he is, but I think he only seemed clever in contrast to the adults we meet.

Which brings me to my second issue: the adults in the first third of the novel, without exception, are unbelievably absurd. With parents like that, it's no wonder Timothy's so obnoxious. And Mr. Bore the CEO taking advice about personality improvement from Timothy and asking him to plan a fancy party? Right. I'm sure Adrienne Kress meant for the adults to be ludicrous -- there's a quirky feel to the novel that often works -- but this unpleasantness was just another brick in the wall for me.

Thirdly, though I usually think an intrusive narrator is fun, I didn't like this one. He's supposed to be drily humorous, but it wasn't working for me. I just didn't think these sorts of intrusions were funny: "The crazy man nodded that he understood, or maybe just nodded because he liked the sensation of nodding, and stood quickly." I listened to the audiobook version of Timothy and the Dragon's Gate, produced by Brilliance Audio and read by Christopher Lane. I could not tell if I just didn't like the intrusive narrator in audio, or if it would have come across the same way in print. I did think Christopher Lane did a great job with the character voices, though.

Again, any of these issues by itself wouldn't have kept me from continuing Timothy and the Dragon's Gate -- there were some parts that were delightfully quirky (e.g., the fish herder was hilarious) and I was interested in the female Ninja's story. I feel certain that Timothy's nasty personality would have mellowed and redeemed itself by the end of the book, too. But the journey wasn't pleasant for me and I didn't want to be around Timothy and all those stupid adults anymore, so I quit. I think I would have liked Adrienne Kress's first novel, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, better.