The Way of the Sword (Young Samurai Series) »

After a vicious ninja attack left him orphaned and stranded in Japan, Jack Fletcher managed to complete his first year of samurai school. Still, his troubles are far from over. The prejudice of his Japanese classmates has gained him dangerous enemies within his school, and Dragon Eye - the ninja who killed his father - is still after him. Jack’s only hope of defeating them lies in surviving the Circle of Three: an ancient ritual that tests a samurai’s courage, skill, and spirit to the limit.

For most, gaining entry into the Circle means honor and glory, but for Jack it’s a matter of life or death. The winner will be trained in the Two Heavens—the formidable sword technique of the great samurai, Masamoto. Learning this secret is the only hope Jack has of protecting his father’s rutter — the invaluable navigation guide of the world’s uncharted oceans — from Dragon Eye.

Forced into a deadly battle, Jack’s going to have to master the Way of the Sword. And his time is running out.

Children's Literature

As he is about to begin his second year of Samurai school, thirteen-year-old Jack Fletcher dreams of his young sister back home in England. Over a year ago, his father's ship was shipwrecked near the coast of Japan and attacked by Ninja. Jack, the only survivor, escaped with his father's rutter including valuable navigational charts and must protect it until he can find safe passage home. Adopted by Masamoto, he was enrolled in his guardian's Samurai school with his friends Yamato and Masamoto's daughter Akiko. This second book in the "Young Samurai" series finds the trio competing for the Circle of Three, mastering challenges of Mind, Body, and Spirit. As in other school stories, the friends struggle with bullies and secrets. However, Bradford presents a vivid picture of the culture of seventeenth-century Japan from the elegant tea ceremony and Samaurai duels to political forces working to rid Japan of Christians. Fans of the martial arts will cheer and groan as the students train in the various forms. Japanese words are italicized and defined in the glossary. Reviewer: Shirley Nelson