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"Fast
moving, culturally respectful, and flat-out engrossing, this should
lead off the next book talk on sports or historical fiction."
Bulletin
of the Center for Children's Books, Starred Review
"A memorable
chronicle of boys' inhumanity to boys, and a testament to enduring values
in a time of social change."
Carolyn
Phelan
Booklist, Starred Review
"This well-written tale offers plenty of fascinating detail, a
fast-paced story, and a fresh perspective on America's pastime. It should
delight baseball fans and win a wide audience."
Marilyn
Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
School Library Journal
"Alan Gratz combines the Eastern world's philosophy of the samurai
with the Western world's love of baseball and creates a heart-pounding,
gut-wrenching novel that will have even the most reluctant readers asking
for more."
Reading
Today, April/May issue
International Reading Association
"Exciting and fun--yet utterly moving--Samurai Shortstop
will shock you, make you laugh, and, at times, make your heart ache
for the main character as he tries to understand how the ancient teachings
of the samurai fit into a modern world of school and baseball."
Nicole
Yasinsky
Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Memphis, TN
Summer 2006 Book Sense Children's Picks
"Alan Gratz's debut novel, Samurai Shortstop, is a page-turner
that's as much about history as baseball."
Elizabeth
Ward
Washington Post, Sunday, April 23, 2006
"From the heart-pounding first chapter to the heroic ending,
Samurai Shortstop hits a home run! A great book for boys."
Dave
Richardson
The Blue Marble Bookstore for Kids
Ft. Thomas, Kentucky
"This gripping and satisfying novel is rich with the details of
an ancient culture, yet contemporary in its exploration of the struggle
to grow and change. Teens, even reluctant readers, will quickly be caught
up in the story."
Carol
Moyer
Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raleigh, NC
Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf
"Alan Gratz writes as the samurai lived, with the passion required
to do an extremely difficult job well [ . . . ] As all good novels must
do, Samurai Shortstop tells us something we need to know. And,
like all great baseball novels, it is ultimately about ourselves."
John
H. Ritter
author of The Boy Who Saved Baseball
"Turn off the TV, brew some tea, sit outside, and enjoy baseball
in a different culture while you listen to the breeze in the trees (even
if they're not cherry trees)."
Randy
Merritt
108 Magazine, "Extra Bases"
"Debut novelist Gratz covers much ground in this baseball story
that's really about the transition of Japan from a feudal society to
a westernized industrial power. [ . . . ] an unusual take on the American
(and Japanese) pastime."
Kirkus
Reviews
"A distinct pleasure of Samurai Shortstop is the clarity
of its prose and the accuracy of its setting. Gratz has done his homework,
capturing the political and social concerns of the times, depicting
Japanese samurai warrior conduct (bushido), and describing the
harsh realities of Japanese boarding school life of the period."
Jonathan
Frey
MetroPulse, Knoxville, Tennessee
"Samurai Shortstop was riveting from the first line-and
what a line! Like country western songs, it had me at the first look.
[ . . . ] With sensitivity and insight, Gratz breathes life into the
characters and times."
Tena
Litherland
Library Director, Webb School of Knoxville, Tennessee
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Click
here to read the full reviews excerpted above.
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