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Title: Dragonwings (Golden Mountain Chronicles)
Score:
Author: Laurence Yep
Rating: Not available
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Review of Dragonwings (Golden Mountain Chronicles)

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Comments for Dragonwings (Golden Mountain Chronicles)

• Posted on 2009-09-07
  Fantastic Read
  
  This book deals with racism and hate, it may contain some violent or mature content, but kids need to learn these things somehow, and I read it when I was 10 and it didn't harm me, if anything, it made me more aware. The worst thing you could do to a child is hide him/her from the truth.
  
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• Posted on 2009-08-21
  From a Chinese immigrant's point of view
  
  Dragonwings is a historical novel for young adults set in San Francisco in the early 1900's. A Chinese man and his son face discrimination and hardships there, yet find affection and support from their Chinese associates and their Caucasian landlady.
  
  The father, known as Windrider for his marvelous skill as a kite builder, has a dream to build and soar in a flying machine as the Wright brothers had recently done on the other side of the continent. The need to earn a living, and later, the great San Francisco earthquake, interrupt the pursuit of his dream for a while.
  
  Although intended for youth in grades 5-8, they will find it slow going, and perhaps not worth the journey. It is not an adventure, but more a lyrical meandering through the lives of Chinese whose hearts are in their home country while their feet are on American soil. For a youth, it would take a very dedicated reader to slog all the way through. For an adult, it is an unusual and interesting perspective on cultural discrimination from the immigrant's point of view. Among themselves, the Chinese refer to the Americans as "demons." In the book, any time they speak English, it is italicized, much as we Americans might italicize a foreign word. There are many references to the Chinese calendar, and their beliefs in dragons, spirits, and gods.
  
  Nothing wrong with the book, but sometimes it dragged.
  
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• Posted on 2008-09-14
  DEALS WITH DIFFICULT MATERIAL IN A WAY KIDS WILL UNDERSTAND
  
  While only more than half way through this book, I find Lawrence Yep writing about subjects that few, if any, novelists for children have dealt with in any seriousness; immigration, drug-abuse, displacement from home, coming of age in America, the experience of the outsider. All of these themes present the issues faced by the characters in "Dragonwings". While some children, as with some adults, may not be mature enough to read this book, and appreciate it for what it offers, others will find themselves rediscovering their place as Americans, seeing through the lens of Moon Shadow, the main character, who arrives as a young boy, working in the California mines--not as a slave and not as an indentured servant, but somewhere in between, where the only solution is piecing together a relationship with his distant father and those "demon" whites surrounding him. Together they work on building an aircraft that may one day take them back to their homeland, and reconnect them with, not only their family, but their ancestral destination of soaring with the dragon spirits. While this may sound like the crazy scheme of some half-baked Harry Potter plot, it deals with actual belief in the ancestral-worship of Buddhist tradition. At the same time it does not dispel the Western belief of pagan dragon spirits. Rather, it just calls out the difference between the two, without bringing into play magic broom sticks or dank dungeon lairs. Moon Shadow comes to know a family of Americans; a mother and daughter, in fact, who, like Moon Shadow and his father, require companionship and a guardian to help them survive the conquest of the American west. The two women support their Chinese companions, by introducing them to primitive forms of popular culture; most importantly, dime store novels and magic lantern shows. These tools not only offer a bridge of the English language, but also help them form relationships that evolve their inventions. Miss. Whitlaw helps Moon Shadow begin a correspondence with the Wright Brothers, who suggest ways of developing their kite models, so as to further progress into the realm of true aviation.
  
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• Posted on 2008-04-09
  Dragonwings' Book Review
  
  "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep is a novel I greatly enjoyed reading. I just finished it and highly recommend it because it was a believable book about the conflicts between the T'ang and Americans, with exciting but historical events. A young Chinese boy named Moon Shadow moves to San Francisco to meet his father for the first time. His father dreams of flying and building a glider, and Moon Shadow must find the courage to stand up and not be afraid of the demons, who greatly influence him and the book.
  In this novel, Laurence writes of a boy who moves to San Francisco to meet the father he's never seen but heard about from his mother and grandmother. His father, Windrider, is very interested in flying and so he begins to build small-scale glider models. Moon Shadow befriends the "Company" who his father works for, and gets to know the friendly Chinese men among them. Later his father and him move out of "China Town", and come to live with an especially nice pair of demonesses who welcome them to their town, and learn to become friends with the strange "Chinamen". Robin and Moon Shadow become companions, and Miss Whitlaw learns about the dragons she believed to be terrible, while teaching Moon Shadow how to read and write. With the help of his new acquaintances friends, he learns that despite the stereotype he believes all demons are, most are actually friendly and not willing to beat him up, every chance they get. In the end, a seemingly impossible dream is accomplished, and feuding friends overcome their differences for the chance to see "Dragonwings" fly.
  Some well-thought out choices the author made in this book, changed the paperback for the better, like characters personalities and setting and time period. In this publication, Windrider has a dream in which he realizes that he was a dragon in his former life. Because of this, he decides to build glider models and when he tests them out, Robin and Moon Shadow bond and become closer playmates. His new attitude and name changes him because, he becomes bolder and eventually gets himself kicked out of his own town, by killing a man. He also acquires a knack for fixing and repairing things, and ends up getting a job as a repairman. Moon Shadow's fear of demons also influences the book too because, becomes skittish, nervous, and afraid to even step outside when it gets dark. He misses opportunities to either get ridiculed or praised by another person. Uncle's stubborn characteristic affects many of the people around him, for sometimes the better, but mostly the worse. He never apologizes, leaving people unhappy and frustrated with his attitude. He refuses to believe that a demon could be nice until he meets Miss Whitlaw and he changes his mind. Refusing to leave the house when the earthquake starts, almost kills him (literally) and he puts the rest of the "Company" in peril for a while. Because the novel is slow at the beginning, it is hard to get into and many people may put it back on the shelf right away. DON'T DO THAT! It is a superb novel that deservers to be read and I warn you that despite the informative and boring intro, it gets WAY better. The absence of dialogue and action leaves many snoring, but don't despair! It gets a lot more exciting late on, even though back then its farming, and talking all about China. The time period and setting in San Francisco, really improved the book for the better. If it wasn't set in 1906, there would have been no earthquake or fire, or a China town for the T'ang to live in. they feel much more comfortable in their familiar surroundings. Since they're in America, Windrider is able to write to the Wright Brothers and ask for model dimensions. Also, the prejudice between Americans and Chinese back then, really develops an exciting plot with historical conflicts as well. The author's choices, really improve the book for the better.
  Even though the beginning was slow and boring, the time and setting enhanced the novel and made the events more exciting. The characters' moods and personalities made them very believable and realistic, and because the events were actual historical facts, it made the story even more believable. I really enjoyed this book and believe that it's a fabulous read with all the believable events, conflicts, and characters (which is understandable since it is a realistic fiction). Overall, great book!
  
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• Posted on 2008-01-08
  A New Beginning in the Land of the Golden Mountain
  
  In the book "Dragonwings" it takes place during the early years of immigration. The setting takes place in San Francisco, in the small town where the "Tang" live. From there, Moon Shadow's family face poverty and the fear of the "demons". They also have to deal with the debts Black Dog gives them. Luckily, there are some demons that are kind, like Robin and Ms.Whitlaw.
  
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