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Historical Fiction by Alan Gratz

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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“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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“To Honor Ichiko and Defend Japan”

Welcome to Ichiko, the First Higher School of Japan, where life is so difficult in the Meiji period that a number of students die at school each year. Fatal Accidents, illnesses, and suicides are all common—but what if the latest student death was a murder? With no teachers or administrators overseeing the dorms, one boy takes the investigation into his own hands.

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