From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-This novel, based on a true event, tells the story of two young teens who live in Rock Springs, WY, in 1885 when animosity between American and Chinese miners reaches its peak. Born in the U.S. of Chinese parents, Joseph Young considers himself an American, but both communities see him as only Chinese. Michael Purdy is an "outsider" because of his illegitimate birth. The boys meet when Michael escapes hounding by bullies and hides in a cave outside of town where Joseph is fossil hunting. In chapters that alternate between the two well-developed characters, the book describes their growing friendship despite the escalating trouble between the Chinese and the "Westerners" who blame the newcomers for their economic hardships and march on Chinatown in a rampage. Though the narrative leading up to the massacre and its aftermath is perhaps a bit too long, Yep does a good job portraying the rampant prejudice, and he does not sugarcoat the horrifying violence, told from Michael's point of view. In stark contrast to the inhumanity he sees in the streets, his mother acts humanely in spite of her negative view of the Chinese. This series entry adds another chapter to the tale of the Young family, who came to America from Kwangtung, China, and sheds needed light on a shameful, but forgotten, event in American history.
Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. Dual voices in alternating chapters narrate the conflict between Chinese and Western coal miners in the Wyoming Territory in 1885. Joseph Young, American by birth but Chinese in heritage, lives with his ostracized father in a mining camp; Michael Purdy, who lives in the nearby town with his unmarried mother, is an outsider because he is a bastard. The boys accidentally meet in a cave filled with fossils and become friends. When the railroad sets out to replace the Western miners with Chinese workers, hatred and resentment explodes in a massacre of the Chinese. The overlong novel has an obvious message, but the short chapters read quickly, and readers will become involved through the first-person voices that capture each boy's feelings of being an outsider and a traitor. An afterword documents the history and a concluding chapter outlines the Golden Mountain Chronicles, noting that the ninth and final is yet to come. This story of prejudice can stand alone, but it will certainly lead readers back to other titles in the series, which reflect Chinese experiences in China and America from 1849-1995.
Julie CumminsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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