Sisters Of The Sword by Maya Snow

This book was surprisingly good. I wouldn't say that I was surprised by the material, because you can get a pretty good idea of what to expect from the plot by reading the summary, kind of a Mulan/ Alanna series (Tamora Peirce) story about a girl who rises out of the stereotypical female role and sort of blurs the boundary we so readily assign to gender association. And this story is a good one, but because it's so over done there is a huge potential for failure. This book however, did not fail.
 
First off I have to say that I'm somewhat impressed. This is a story about two young girls dealing with the death of their father and brothers, and there is actually evidence of violence. It is a children's book so of course there is nothing too graphic, but it is no max and ruby! You fear for the characters and the suspense your fear creates because they could actually get hurt really increases the anticipation. The story makes you want to feel things basically :P but again, this is a novel for children. I picked it up in the 9 - 12 section of the book store and I'd say the subject matter is handled in a way appropriate for that age. More often than not, though danger is close at hand, the girls are spared what would be a scary scene (and what would have been added in the adult version of the novel with more gore and blood) leaving only a handful of actual encounters wherein they are confronted with an unpleasant confrontation.
 
The main characters Kimi and Hana were great as well. The story wasn't so much about how they 'beat the system', how they showed everyone that girls can do whatever boys can. It was a better story, side stepping that superficial attempt at feminism. It was about inner strength and fighting your own demons with what you've got. And yes, Kimi wants to be a samurai like nothing else, but the focus of the story is on how she reacts with strength and courage when such a bad thing has happened to her and her family. She uses her desire to become a samurai to move forward, to avenge her family, but her reason of existence isn't to prove that she can. She knows she can. Her purpose is acknowledge her ability, nurture it, and then use it to best accomplish what she desires.
 
The book ended... like a beginning, so I assume this is the beginning of some sort of series. And this is a novel written for children, but that I'm 20 yr old university student and still enjoyed it says something, I think, about the author's talent for storytelling. It was a well written book with a good story and great characters. I look forward to a continuation.