The Gold of Dreams

by José María Merino

Book Overview

Miguel begins an exciting adventure in search of gold. As he explores for treasures in the New World, he leaves behind his boyhood and becomes a man. Level 4 Up to 1,500 words This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374326924
• ISBN13: 9780374326920
• Release Date: January 1958
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 217 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

The Gold of Dreams

The book The Gold of Dreams by Jose Maria Marino is an enchanting tale about a young Mexican boy who goes on a treasure hunt with his godfather and an old family friend. The book was quite good except for the fact that the book started out fairly slowly. During the boy's journey, the purpose was to find treasure. The purpose soon became to survive... I would recommend this book because it is exceptionally exciting towards the middle of the book. The different characters are explained with great detail and are extremely realistic. Take Miguel, for instance. He is a fifteen year-old boy and the decisions and thoughts he comes up with resemble those of an average 15 year-old. There is nothing that is obviously unbelievable. The different events have a lot of action (in the middle) so the reader wants to continue. Another reason this book is well written is because the characters all have unique stories of their own. Miguel, for instance, has a missing father and has always wanted to know him. The characters seem to be carefully and realistically planned out and have little secrets that one might not notice from their first description. These are the little things that many people overlook but make this book what it is. People might dislike this book because it starts out slowly and seems to be a boring book at first. The action starts towards the middle but this is usual for most books. This should definitely not be reason to stop someone from reading this book. The action at the end is definitely worth it. All of the parts come together to weave this book together. The reader gets to see what happens to all of the different characters, which you usually get very into. The end is clearly the best part of the book also because when one finds out what happens, they get a good feeling inside seeing how the characters progressed and developed from the beginning. Miguel learns many things about his different friends from the journey that he takes because they all have to work together to survive. This book is truly a very engrossing and informative book about the Mexican culture. I strongly advise the reader to read this book if you he/she is considering it.

Miguel's Gold of Dream

The beginning of The Gold of Dreams by Jose Maria Merino was slow but after the story progresses it becomes more intriguing. It is very realistic which would be hard for the author because the story does not take place in modern times. It is about 15 year old Miguel, son of a Conquistador, who goes to an adventure to find gold in South Mexico with his godfather and companions. During their trip they fight Indians, battle a giant squid, search for gold, pearls and other treasures and Miguel learns the truth of some surprising things. I would recommend this book even though it is a historical book it is exciting, parts of the book keep you reading. The main character Miguel learns a lot about his life and some of the truth about his friend Juan, his father, and the friar. The two cultures he has, the Christian from his father and the Indian from his mother's side, confuse him. You understand much more about the times around the Spanish Conquistadors. I can see why some people might not like this book and I agree with them. Many parts were either dull or exciting. Also some parts were so detailing that it was disgusting. Sometimes, since it is a Spanish translation, they used many Spanish words without a glossary to explain them which made parts confusing. Everything seems to revolve around Miguel so much that it would not be realistic but it is a book and it does what it has to to keep the reader interested, which it does.