Tuesday 6 December 2016

Book ~ "White Jade Tiger" (2017) Julie Lawson

From Goodreads ~ Jasmine is not sure she likes the idea of being stuck in Victoria while her father goes to China. But on a field trip to Chinatown, she changes her mind. Passing through a doorway in Fan Tan Alley, she mysteriously finds herself in the early 1880s. 

Adventure begins with a new friend, a journey to the Fraser Canyon during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a search for an ancient amulet. But Jasmine is not the only one searching for the white jade tiger.

Jasmine is thirteen and living in Victoria, BC, with her aunt while her father is working in China.  On a school trip, she goes to Chinatown and is suddenly transported to Victoria's Chinatown in the late 1800s.

There she meets Keung, a young Chinese man who is looking for his father who had come from China a few years earlier to work on the railroad so he could make money to better himself back home.  His father had found a white jade tiger amulet and instead of leaving it alone, he took it with him and brought tragedy to his family.  In addition to finding his father, Keung wants to return the white jade tiger to where it belongs to lift the curse from his family.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it.  I enjoy time travel stories and what made this one more interesting is that it takes place in western Canada and involved history that we're not especially proud of.  It's an interesting story directed at a younger audience and I learned about the building of the railroad using Chinese workers who weren't treated well at all.  It is written in third person perspective with the focus on Jasmine and Keung.

1 comment:

Buried In Print said...

Julie Lawson is an author I've yet to try but this one sounds very good; I'm glad you liked it. Time travel is something I often enjoy in fiction too.