From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up?Listeners familiar with Dragon's Gate by Lawrence Yep (HarpC, 1993) will be eager to hear [Laurence Yep's] rendition of its prequel (HarpC, pap. 1996). Set in early 19th century China, this is the story of eight-year-old Cassia Young and her family as they struggle against famine, violence, and the disapproval of other clan members. Her parent's life work has been their involvement in "The Brotherhood" whose goal is to drive foreign invaders from their country. Father, a skilled soldier, hopes that his only son, Foxfire, will carry on this mission and relentlessly drills the boy in proper fighting technique. But Foxfire, a dreamer who consistently fails to meet his father's expectations, ultimately flees China for the chance to succeed in the land of the "Golden Mountain" across the sea. Filled with riveting descriptions of daily life, including a horrifying scene in which Cassia's aunt and uncle attempt to bind her feet in an effort to improve her chances of making a good marriage, Yep's book provides realistic details of a young girl growing up under the harshest of conditions yet determined to keep the promise she made to her mother of keeping the family together. [Yep's] narration, once listeners get over the dissonance between her very American voice and the culture of the main character, effectively captures Cassia's spirited personality. This is an engrossing portrayal of a tumultuous period in China's history that is unfamiliar to many American readers. Recommended for all public library collections.?Cindy Lombardo, Ashland Public Library, OH
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Why did those nineteenth-century Chinese villagers cross perilous seas to endure shame and hardship in California? Cassia and her family show us why. With her mother dead and her father off fighting the demons who invaded China with their opium, this teenager and her brother must fend off starvation, slavery, and possibly prostitution. But their mother has told them that they are children of the serpent, and children of the serpent never give up. [Laurence Yep] compellingly relates Cassia's struggle. Her voice is intense with drama and mystery, urging the reader through the primitive, poverty-stricken world of the past to the deceptively attractive "golden mountain" that her brother has found in California. The worlds are far apart in time and custom, but [Yep] helps us bridge them. P.E.F. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
