"The entire time I read this, I kept thinking: what a great read for middle school boys. My next thought was 'Thank goodness they sent me book two! Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword.'" — Miss Remmers
I read this book in Central Park during BEA!
From Amazon.com...
"August 1611. Jack Fletcher is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan – his beloved father and the crew lie slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by the legendary sword master Masamoto Takeshi, Jack's only hope is to become a samurai warrior. And so his training begins. But life at the samurai school is a constant fight for survival. Even with his friend Akiko by his side, Jack is singled out by bullies and treated as an outcast. With courage in his heart and his sword held high, can Jack prove himself and face his deadliest rival yet?"
This is one of those review books I feel absolutely awful about — I mean, really awful. I put it off and put it off (for months) and the publicist and author were SO nice to me. Chris Bradford even did a guest post! But no matter how much I pressured myself, I could not pick up this book. Finally, when it came time to pack for BEA I decided that I would only bring TWO books: The Paradox of Choice and Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior. After finishing The Paradox of Choice I very begrudgingly picked up this book (simply because I had to).
I quickly realized that I had made a grave mistake.
After the first chapter I was completely enveloped into the story and could not put it down. I just HAD to find out what would happen to Jack. Sheila pretty much had to force me out of Central Park that day! I ended up finishing this book the next day while standing in different lines for autographs at BEA. A few odd looks were thrown my way, I had WONDERFUL new books that people had traveled so far for in my bag, but was reading this book instead — a book that nearly no one seemed to have heard about.
Oh what they don't know.
I'll stop gushing and put myself together for the review.
Apart from this book being absolutely fantastic — the characters were all so clear and each with their own individual voice, the plot was fast moving and well directed, the culture depicted was flawless (well, I don't know since I'm not Japanese... but it sounds legit), and the language was superb. I was a little bit weary, after realizing that the entirety of this novel took place in Japan. I don't speak Japanese. Jack doesn't speak Japanese. I was very curious to see how Chris Bradford could even attempt to bridge this gap between Jack and the Japanese and how Jack would be able to communicate with the Japanese. I simply can't explain how he did it, but Chris Bradford effortlessly seemed to entwine these two impossibly different cultures so successfully that half the time when I was reading I'd forget that Jack was not Japanese! This was one of the most impressive aspects of this book.
The plot was fantastic. Every chapter ended with a "cliff hanger" — which aided the fact that I could NOT put it down! It was fast paced and adventure driven — something my reluctant readers (especially boys) will just love! The entire time I read this I kept thinking, what a great read for middle school or high school (with lower reading levels) boys. My next thought was "Thank goodness they sent me book two! Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword."
There were a few things I didn't necessarily love. The ending came pretty quick — but oh, it was a wonderful ending! So scratch that, now that I think about it, I wouldn't change a thing about the ending. I guess the only thing I can really say I disliked, and yes this will be shallow, was the cover. It was this cover that kept me away from this fantastic read for so long. I'm not sure what it is about it — but I know it will be a "pain in my butt"when I try to sway my boys to read this. I think, as a general society, we are all so driven by the cover of a book, and in this particular case it will be the cover that hinders my students from picking this book up (which is a sad thought indeed).
But hopefully with some pushing and enthusiasm I can get my boys (and girls) to pick this fantastic read up. Stay tuned for a review of Book Two (I forgot to pack it so it's at home) and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be reading the third as well (out in August).
Originality: 10/10
Ending: 8/10
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 10/10
Theme: 10/10
Imagery: 10/10
Setting: 5/5
Voice: 5/5
Style: 5/5
Tone: 5/5
Cover: 3/10
Overall: 91/100 A
To the FTC, with love: Review Book