Gold Mountain

- Reviews -

In Betty G. Yee' s historical novel Gold Mountain, a young Chinese girl poses as her brother, going to work on a US railroad in his place. Ling Fan' s father is in prison for a crime he did not commit, and her aunt is plotting Ling Fan' s marriage to the ne' er-do-well son of a neighbor. Her twin, Jing Fan, had a contract with the Central Pacific Railroad; he' s been counted upon to make the family' s fortune. When Jing Fan dies of influenza, Ling Fan is unwilling to accept her family' s change of fates. Ling Fan binds her breasts, dons her brother' s clothes, grabs Jing Fan' s contract, and sails to America to work for the railroad and earn the money that her family needs. She survives a tunnel collapse, malfunctioning equipment, explosions, an avalanche, and betrayal, all with one goal in mind: freeing her father. All the while, she worries that she' s not strong enough, brave enough, and that someone will find out that she' s a girl. Still, Ling Fan proves herself to be capable and heroic: she twice saves the life of the very boy who threatened to reveal her secret. Ling Fan' s story honors the many Chinese workers who came to the US to build the transcontinental railway in the late nineteenth century. They blasted tunnels through the Sierra Nevada Mountains using dynamite and nitroglycerin, sometimes in baskets suspended on ropes over cliffs hundreds of feet above raging rivers. Many were injured, and many died. Ling Fan' s story helps to bring awareness of this dark chapter in American history to younger readers. Gold Mountain is the historical tale of a courageous daughter whose determination helps to change the face of America, as well as her Chinese family' s fortunes. --Foreword Reviews-- "Website" (5/1/2022 12:00:00 AM) A Chinese girl disguises herself as a boy to work on the perilous construction of the transcontinental railroad. It is 1867, and 15-year-old Tam Ling Fan just lost her twin brother, Jing Fan, to an influenza outbreak. Her magistrate father was also recently falsely accused of treason and imprisoned, and her family expects Ling Fan to follow her duties as a young woman. Through an advantageous marriage, the Tams could become allied with a powerful family who might wield their influence to assist Baba. Ling Fan sees another path, however. Disguised as Jing Fan, she boards a ship to California with a prized railroad contract in hand. But railroad work is a dangerous affair--and she might have underestimated how long it would take to collect enough money for a bribe to help free Baba. Yee takes readers on a vivid journey through the pressures testing those joining the race to build the first transcontinental railroad--from physical dangers and mental stress to the lure of vices. Racial tensions and xenophobia are ever present as well. At home in China as well as among her fellow workers, Ling Fan navigates the dynamics of her class privilege and her gender. A degree of impulsivity and naive trust in others sometimes jeopardizes her already precarious situation, but luck keeps her from harm, and her persistence and perseverance, though tested, are unyielding. An adventure-filled glimpse into history through the eyes of a determined daughter. --Kirkus Reviews-- "Journal" (2/15/2022 12:00:00 AM)

- Author Bio -

Betty G. Yee was born and raised in Massachusetts. She spent much of her early life reimagining stories or writing sequels to them. Betty has taught elementary school for over twenty years. When she' s not teaching, reading, or writing, she enjoys traveling, biking, and eating French fries. She lives in Medford, Massachusetts with her two bossy cats, Zara and Piper.

- Full Details -

Status:	Active
ISBN-13:	9781728415826
Published:	6 Jul 2022
Published In:	United States
Imprint:	Carolrhoda Lab (R)
Publisher:	Carolrhoda Lab (R)
Format:	Hardback
Height:	213mm
Width:	142mm
Spine:	30mm
Weight:	431g
Pages:	288

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