Gateway

Starred review from October 19, 2009
Daiyu was adopted as a baby from China by an American couple, and now as a teenager in St. Louis, a strangely attractive gem sends her into an alternate world where North America was colonized by Chinese settlers rather than Europeans. Daiyu is recruited by Ombri and Aurora, two “servants of the gods” who are also able to move between worlds, to help stop Chenglei, a dangerous traveler who has been elected prime minister of Shenglang (the alternate version of St. Louis and “arguably the most important city on the world called Jia”). But even as Daiyu becomes increasingly fascinated by Shenglang and attracted to Kalen, who assists Ombri and Aurora, she begins questioning everything: is the charming Chenglei truly evil? (“Were Aurora and Ombri simply interdimensional bounty hunters who had their own agenda?” she wonders. “How could she possibly know?”). Shinn's (General Winston's Daughter
) fantasy finds the right balance between adventure and romance, while illuminating how seductive evil can be and that sometimes the best weapon one can possess is a skeptical mind. Ages 12–up.

December 1, 2009
Gr 6-9-When Daiyu, a St. Louis high school student adopted as a baby from China, buys a black jade ring from an old woman and then walks through the Gateway Arch, her life instantly changes. The Arch has been replaced by an enormous pagodalike gate, and most of the people around her are Chinese. A young man assures her that everything is fine and takes her to the people who have been expecting her. Daiyu discovers that the world she knows is only one of many "iterations" created by contentious gods who wanted different versions of the world when it was created. Because she is Chinese, she has been brought to this particular iteration, a place where the ruling class is Chinese, to help eliminate one of the gods' rogue servants. The fantasy is coherent and engaging and has the potential for sequels that explore other iterations. Shinn is a prolific and skillful writer, and the world in which Daiyu finds herself is full of interesting detail, though its use of Chinese culture is superficial. The story itself moves slowly. Daiyu is placed into the household of an upper-class woman who claims the teen as her niece because she is desperate to get certain invitations only available to families with girls being introduced into society. Daiyu falls in love with the young man who rescued her and is also courted by a wealthy suitor. In the end, it is the hint of a happy ending to the slight love story that will satisfy most readers."Barbara Scotto, Children's Literature New England, Brookline, MA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2009
Grades 9-12 Daiyu, a Chinese American adoptee, walks under the St. Louis Arch, unknowingly carrying a talisman that sends her to an alternate world where the West was colonized by the East and the lower impoverished classes are made up of the cangbai (whites) and heirens (blacks). She is panicked upon arrival but is quickly comforted by Kalen, a cangbai. The whys and what fors are soon addressed by interdimensional agents who want Daiyu to send Chenglei, the charismatic prime Minister, back to his home world before he ruins this one. But, shes suspicious of their intentions. She is drawn to Chengleis warmth and charm, while he is equally taken with her mysterious nature. Readers wont mind that Shinn injected a good deal of romance into this fantasy, and they might even detect a few shades of political thriller. Some may scoff that even in a world thats predominately Han (Chinese), Daiyu chooses a cangbai; but Kalen is sincere, funny, and very likable. They share a few intense kisses, bemoan her impending departure, and eventually find their happily-ever-after.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
The combination of a luminescent stone and an archway catapults Daiyu from our world into a parallel "iteration." There Kalen (whom she trusts instantly) and Aurora and Ombri (whom she doesn't) recruit her to return treacherous Prime Minister Chenglei to his own iteration. Kalen and Daiyu's inevitable romance is sweet yet unrealistically easy; the fantasy is engaging but lacks a compelling backstory.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)