Samurai Shortstop

 By: Alan Gratz 

(This book is available in both hard cover and paper back.) 

      Samurai Shortstop is a great baseball novel for all ages.  This book teaches you about the Japan love of the game and about some cool and wierd rituals that take place during the book. 

Summary

 This book takes place in the island of Japan, and in a very well respected highschool called Ichiko. The focus of the book is on a freshman boy named Toyo Shimada who is really into the sport of Baseball. Toyo is the only child in his family, he has an uncle named Koji, he has a dad named Sotaro, his mom is not talked much of throughout the story but you do get the hint that she died a while ago. His uncle must kill himself through the ritual called Seppuku. So now Toyo is left with just his father and his best friend. His best friend is with him forever through this novel, his name is Futoshi.  They both went to the same highschool called Ichiko and they both go out for many different activities during their scholar years. Soon as Toyo finds out the school turns to havock. This is the cause of the anual storm or clenched fist punishment that happens every once in a while. The storm is when all of the seniors of the school go around and storm into all of the freshmen dorms, at night, and beat up all of the freshmen. But after toyo's cabin experience this storm they decide to trick the seniors the next time they storm by hiding and then coming out when the seniors are looking around and start to counter the attacks by beating on the seniors. But since the seniors gratify their choice they leave them alone not beaten as bad as last time. But when Toyo joined the highly respected baseball team at Ichiko highschool, things with him and Junzo, the leader of the senior storm pack and the leader of the baseball team, seem to turn out better because Junzo does not want his new shortstop, which is why the name of the book is Samurai Shortstop, to get injured. Junzo is a highly respected Senior at Ichiko who is also the leader of the storm/clenched fist punishment. Junzo is a big guy who plays first and is the power hitter on Ichiko's team. He is also the captain of the team. While Toyo is at school he faces many normal problems that he must wiggle his way out of. For example when the Ichiko highschool go outside the school boundaries on a recess break, Toyo meets up with one of the American girls. Toyo later finds out that he is doing something very wrong by dating this american girl. Toyo loses alot of family when he leaves for school, for example he first loses his uncle to seppuku, then later in the book Toyo finds out that his dad goes through something very similar to his uncle Koji. If you want to find out what happens to Toyo, Futoshi, and his dad you must read Samurai Shortstop. The book title (samurai), ( click the death button to the left) is relavent to the story because the story due to the fact that this book is written during the 1880's. Also, samurai is a very big part of the Japanese culture so Toyo's family is a big beleiver of samurai.

Review

     In a person that read this I thought this book was going to be dull by the look of the cover.  But once I started the book I really could not put it down.  I loved the way Alan Gratz wrote about the traditions in Japan and then mixing them together with baseball to form an eccentric reading novel.  Everyone that I talk to said they liked the book and that they couldn't stop reading this exccellent novel.  I would definitley reccomend this book to anyone that is into culture and the great sport of baseball.  This book is definetely a page turner indeed.