Dragon's Gate

Reach for this book if your teen is navigating a major life transition, struggling with high family expectations, or encountering systemic unfairness for the first time. Laurence Yep's Newbery Honor novel follows Otter, a young man who leaves China to join his father and uncle on the dangerous construction of the transcontinental railroad in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It is a powerful exploration of how we define ourselves when our heroes turn out to be human and when the world around us is more hostile than we imagined. Through themes of resilience, racial justice, and labor history, the story offers a mirror for children of immigrants and a window for others into the often overlooked Chinese experience in American history. It is a sophisticated, realistic read that validates the loneliness of the outsider while celebrating the grit required to build a future.