Dragon Road

By Laurence Yep

Part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles series

Two friends face fame, prejudice, and tough choices on a 1939 basketball tour.

3.7/5 Goodreads · 86 ratings

291 pages· 63,865 words· Est. 9 hour read

$16.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

In 1939, Cal Chin and Barney Young, best friends and basketball prodigies, find themselves on a thrilling yet perilous journey across America. As members of the Chinese-American team, the Dragons, they navigate fame, racial prejudice, and the challenges of barnstorming basketball. With tensions rising and their tour unraveling, Cal must decide between loyalty to his team and his own ambitions. Will their friendship survive the pressures of the road, or will the allure of celebrity tear them apart? Discover the heartache and triumphs on the Dragon Road, inspired by the real-life Hong Wah Kues.

From the publisher

Best friends Cal and Barney are down and out in Chinatown. In the America of 1939, they are trapped by invisible barriers created by racial prejudice. With no jobs and no real homes, it’s only their wizardry with a basketball that’s let them survive this long.That same skill suddenly flings a door open to fame and fortune when a professional basketball team, the Dragons, invites them to join the team. Soon they’re barnstorming across America and taking on all comers–from local amateurs to other professional teams like the Harlem Globetrotters.On that long, difficult road, they must battle rowdy teams and their even rougher fans on makeshift courts. Cal, aka Flash, and the team must also overcome terrible weather, crumbling highways, and their own disintegrating car. As the tour starts to fall apart, the tension between Cal and the team’s jealous captain comes to a head. Suddenly Cal must choose between loyalty to his teammates and the pursuit of his own celebrity. Inspired by the pioneering professional Chinese American basketball team the Hong Wah Kues, Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep re-creates a colorful era of barnstorming basketball and leads readers through the heartache and glory of the dragon road.