The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852 (My Name is America)

Rating:
Summary: The Journal of Wong Ming- Chung
Review: "Big as melons!" Who would have known Uncle Stone was exaggerating

about how big the gold was going to be? The book I am talking about is The

Journal of Wong Ming-Chung, by Laurence Yep. The genre is historical

fiction.

The story takes place in two areas. In the beginning, it's in China

(year 1852) and it ends in America. Uncle Stone wanted to make a better life

for his family by getting gold. At first, everyone agreed with him, but when

they found out the ticket to America cost too much, they didn't know what

to do. Uncle decided to sell one of their lands to pay off the ticket, but the

whole family disagreed with the idea. Everyone knew Uncle was unlucky, but

since Uncle was the oldest, his word was law.

The main character is Runt (also known as Wong Ming-Chung or Bright

Intelligence). Runt was the only one out of the whole family who liked Uncle.

They got along very well and liked spending time together. When Uncle

arrived at Golden Mountain, he sent a letter home requesting for Blessing's

help. Blessing was Runt's older brother, and because of that, the family

decided to send Runt. They didn't want to send Blessing because they were

afraid he might become sick or die. They cared more about Blessing because

he was the oldest and more valuable to them. Runt was very useful at Golden

Mountain. He was very determined to dig and pan for gold, and he got paid

for writing letters.

This book was very good and descriptive. Through most of the book, I

could easily get into the story. The characters were interesting because

they had words as names. For example: Fox. Fox was the boss of Uncle Stone

and Runt. He was sneaky and brilliant. The author was also very

informational. He made the story seem real, but the book was also boring

during a few parts because it was too descriptive and informational. The

book also became confusing sometimes because there were too many

characters to keep track of. You'd get confused with all the new characters'

names and who they were and what they did. Besides that, this book is

pretty good and entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves 3 1/2 stars.
Review: "The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852" was interesting, as I have never read a book about the Chinese Miners. At times, this book was a tad boring and the writing didn't seem realistic for an eleven-year-old boy, but nevertheless, I learned different things about the Chinese cultural. My last complaint would be for the epilogue - it could have been more specific. A good book for beginner learners of how and why the Chinese migrated to America during the Gold Rush - I recommend.

Rating:
Summary: A very good historical book!!!
Review: The Journal of Wong Min-Chung is a very good historical fiction book!!!Dispite what someone else said in a reveiw it tells alot of chinese as much as I need to know for now anyways!!!Runt is a young boy from Tiger Rock,China yup and well they hear talk of the golden mountain(The gold feilds in Cali),and they think it sounds so great like you'll make millions since the guest(That's what those relatives of those who dig gold are called)are very rich from there relatives working on the mountain!!!So Runts stubborn Uncle Stone with much fighting with Runts father which is also Uncle Stones brother he is on his way to America claiming to the clan he's bringing home melon sized nuggets!!! Of course that doesn't happen...But Runt's brother Blessing was supposed to be sent to the golden mountain to be with his Uncle,but there parents didn't want him to go so they forced Runt to go instead,and Run suddenly thought his parents hated him for his own parents were willing to risk Runt's life over Blessing's!!!There is so much more to this wonderfully crafted book on the American gold rush,if you want to learn about the gold rush you should read this book!!!

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating fictional account of the Gold Rush.
Review: Young Bright Intelligance (who's usually called Runt because of his small size) and his family live in grueling poverty in rural China in 1851. Hoping to make a name for himself and earn a fortune, Runt's uncle sets out for the gold fields of California. Soon, Runt joins him. He is horrified by barely endurable conditions on the ocean voyage and by the cruelty with which the American miners treat the Chinese. And he soon learns that mining is mostly working long, hard hours for just a small ammount of gold. And the predjudice of the Americans soon escalates into violence. Still, through it all, Runt holds on to his hope of discovering gold and earning a better life for his family. Told through Runt's diary, this book showed what a young immigrant miner in California during the gold rush might have seen, encountered, thought, and felt. An excellant addition to the My Name is America series.