?In rural China in 1865, 14-year-old Otter eagerly sails to California to join his father and legendary uncle on the transcontinental railroad. On a freezing, snow-filled mountain in the Sierras, Otter begins his harrowing journey toward self-knowledge. An engaging survival-adventure story, a social history, a heroic quest.??BL. ?Told with humanity and compassion? a tribute to the survival and courage of these immigrants.??1994 Newbery Committee. <P> <awards> 1994 Newbery Honor Book<br>Notable Children's Books of 1994 (ALA)<br>1994 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)<br>1993 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)<br>1994 John and Patricia Beatty Award (California Library Association)<br>1994 Silver Medal for Literature (Commonwealth Club of America)</awards>