Back of Book: 

In 1841 a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan’s borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way.

Manjiro, a 14-year-old boy, is curious and eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Eventually the captain adopts Manjiro and takes him to his home in New England. The boy lives there for some time and then heads to San Francisco to pan for gold. After many years, he makes it back to Japan, only to be imprisoned as an outsider. With his hard-won knowledge of the West, Manjiro is in a unique position to persuade the emperor to ease open the boundaries around Japan; he may even achieve his unlikely dream of becoming a samurai. 

Book Number: One 

Genre: Young Adult | Historical 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Master writer Margi Preus treats readers to an amazing adventure in 1853 Japan. This lyric novel follows Yoshi, a Japanese boy who dreams of becoming a samurai. Unfortunately, as part of the serving class, Yoshi can never become a warrior. He is taken up by Manjiro, the protagonist of Preus’s Heart of a Samurai, and becomes his servant and secret watchdog. Meanwhile, Commodore Matthew Perry and his USS Susquehanna squadron of steamships arrive in Edo Bay demanding that Japan open its ports to foreign trade. Aboard the commodore’s flagship is Jack, a cabin boy who becomes separated from his American companions. He and Yoshi set out on a grand adventure to return Jack to his ship before he is discovered by the shogun’s samurai. 

Book Number: Two (Last Book) 

Genre: Young Adult | Historical 

Review:🌟🌟🌟