Dragonwings

1975, undated possibly first paperback edition, from HarperTrophy
Laurence Yep
Dragonwings
Original price unknown, purchase price $3.75
Worn paperback
B-

A Newberry Honor book about a Chinese boy, Moon Shadow, who joins his father in San Francisco at the turn of the century.  The title "character" is the plane that his father designs because of a dream he once had where he was a dragon.  The story is about both believing in your dreams and realizing when they're getting in the way of your life.  Because of the setting, much of the book tells of the 1906 earthquake and fire.  As with Julie of the Wolves, there's some content that's surprising for a preteen novel, including murder, opium addiction, and prostitution.

This finishes off not only 1975, but my first bookcase.  I've moved the 1971 books I didn't discard down to the bottom shelf, so I no longer have to split that year.  The penultimate bookcase runs from the Mrs. Grundy book to Sexual Politics, while this last shelf now starts with "Just Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own!"  The next bookcase was designed to go by windows, so it's more horizontal than vertical, and at the moment the top shelf holds from '76 to '81.  A lot of those books are in poor enough condition I'll probably get rid of them, so it's going to be awhile before I finish another shelf.