Gunpowder Alchemy E. Sylvester Std Berry It was supposed to be

It was supposed to be easy

and received Director's Mention for the Langum Prize in American Historical Fiction

& Other Selected Writings

and poverty threaten her family

The closest thing she's ever found to real happiness was the magical

Gunpowder Alchemy E. Sylvester Std Berry It was supposed to beIn 1842, the gunpowder might of China's Qing Dynasty fell to Britain's steam engines. Furious, the Emperor ordered the death of his engineers, eliminating China's best chance of fighting back. Since her father's execution eight years ago, Jin Soling has kept her family from falling apart. With her mother addicted to opium and her younger brother in danger of being sent off to the factories, Soling has no choice but to sell off the last of her father's