Man, I pulled 'Dragon’s Gate' off my shelf the other day to revisit some scenes, and it’s thicker than I remembered! The edition I have is the 2013 paperback from Scholastic, and it clocks in at 432 pages. Laurence Yep’s writing is so immersive—those pages fly by once you get into Otter’s journey. The historical depth mixed with adventure makes it feel way shorter than it actually is, though. I’ve lent this book to friends who usually avoid longer reads, and they always finish it in a weekend because the pacing is just that good.
Funny thing—I compared it to Yep’s 'Dragonwings,' which is part of the same Golden Mountain Chronicles but leans a bit shorter. The extra pages in 'Dragon’s Gate' really let the railroad labor camp scenes breathe, though. You get more of that gritty, visceral detail about the workers’ struggles. The glossary and author’s note in my edition add another 15-ish pages, but those are worth every second for context. Still one of my favorite middle-grade historical novels, even as an adult.