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Japan Fiction by Alan Gratz

“Okiku and the Nine Plates”

A re-imagining of the classic Japanese ghost story of the same name. In this version, a samurai “Special Investigator” with a knack for dealing with yōkai — Japanese spirits — is sent by the Shogun to deal with a mysterious phenomenon menacing one of his faithful daimyo.

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“The Ghost Who Came to Breakfast”

A modern Japanese family is visited by a warashi — a “good luck ghost” — whose friendship is financially rewarding. But as one member of the family will learn, good luck comes at a high price…

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Samurai Shortstop

Tokyo, Japan. 1890. When his beloved Uncle Koji commits ritual suicide, 16-year-old Toyo Shimada must learn to blend bushido — the samurai way of the warrior — with his baseball practices to prevent his father from following in Koji’s footsteps, all while navigating his first year at the punishing First Higher School of Tokyo.

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