''Dragon's Gate'' is a children's

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

Laurence Yep Laurence Michael Yep ( zh, t=葉祥添, s=叶祥添, p=Yè Xiángtiān, j=Jip6 Coeng4 Tim1; born June 14, 1948) is an American writer. He is known for his children's books, having won the Newbery Honor twice for his ''Golden Mountain'' series. I ...

, published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

in 1995. It inaugurated the ''Golden Mountain Chronicles'' and is the third chronicle in narrative sequence among ten published as of 2012. Yep and ''Dragon's Gate'' received a Newbery Honor in 1994.Newbery Medal reference
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Plot

Otter is a fourteen-year-old Chinese boy growing up during the opium wars and the oppression of the Manchu dynasty. He wishes to travel to America, to the Land of the Golden Mountain called California, so he can assist his Uncle Foxfire and father in the doing of the Great Work - their clan's dedication to taking back their country from the Manchu invaders and reestablishing the Ming dynasty. Yet with much disdain, he decides to remain in Three Willows to be with his mother, Cassia. After accidentally killing a Manchu soldier, Otter's life is in great peril. As a result, he is sent to America to join his father and uncle. Originally enthralled by this turn of events, Otter quickly realizes life in the Golden Mountain is a far cry from his dreams. Soon, Otter's dream becomes a nightmare as he struggles to persevere in a new, unfamiliar land filled with harsh conditions and even harsher people.

''Golden Mountain Chronicles''

The

family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...

follows the Young family, initially in China. ''Dragons of Silk'' (2011) spans a few generations and brings the story to the present; nine previous novels have been dated 1849 to 1995. # ''The Serpent's Children'', set in 1849 (1984) # ''Mountain Light'', 1855 (1985) # ''Dragon's Gate'', 1867 (1993) # ''The Traitor'', 1885 (2003) # '' Dragonwings'', 1903 (1975) # ''Dragon Road'', 1939 (2007); originally ''The Red Warrior'' # ''Child of the Owl'', 1960 (1977) # ''Sea Glass'', 1970 (1979) # ''Thief of Hearts'', 1995 (1995) # ''Dragons of Silk'', 1835-2011 (2011) Four of the ten historical novels are among Yep's five works most widely held in WorldCat libraries.WorldCat identities record
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References

{{Reflist, 30em 1995 American novels