Maya Snow

Sisters of the Sword by Maya Snow is set in thirteenth-century Japan and tells the story of Kimi and her sister Hana, privileged daughters of the region’s Jito, or lord. At this time Jitos ruled certain regions and there was no strong central authority in the land. Contrary to tradition, Kimi and Hana have been allowed to participate with their brothers in their samurai training. When their uncle comes to visit and treacherously slaughters their family, Kimi and Hana must escape in order show more to survive their uncle’s brutal ambition to be the next Jito. The girls make their way to the area dojo, or samurai training school, where they pass themselves off as boys to Master Goku and find work as servants. They continue their samurai training as best they can, but are hounded by their cousin Ken-Ichi who is a student there and who enjoys antagonizing those below him. He does not realize the girls are his cousins, and Kimi plans her family’s revenge under his mistreatment.

Unfortunately I found this book rather contrived. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural, and the characters (especially Kimi from whose point of view the story is told) are flat and one-dimensional. It is also very far-fetched to have young girls training as samurai, and smacks more of modern-day sensibilities than of what really happened in that historical period. I will say that the fight scenes were well-written. But the rest of the story collapses under the stereotypical characters and artificial plotline.

I appreciate the attempt to draw young readers into this time period, and the historical setting itself is fascinating — but I don’t think it does the period much service to overlay it with modern feminism. It’s much more interesting to see realistic historical characters operating within those parameters and finding their individuality and meaning within themselves and their relationships, not in rebelling against convention just for the sake of rebelling against convention. Girls dressing up as boys in order to learn how to fight is a weary old device that needs to be retired from young adult fiction. I think Ms. Snow has potential as a writer, but I was not impressed with this story.

Thank you to HarperCollins for the opportunity to review the Advance Reader edition of this book! show less

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

In SISTERS OF THE SWORD, twin sisters Hana and Kimi were wrenched violently out of the world they knew when their uncle, Hidehira, brutally slaughtered their father and older brothers in order to usurp their father's claim as samurai lord.

Hana and Kimi escaped, as did their mother and their young brother, but the four became separated. For Hana and Kimi, the only hope of survival is to disguise themselves as young boys and seek safety in the show more martial arts training school, or dojo, of the insightful Master Goku.

They befriend fellow student Tatsuya, who, along with Master Goku, is the only one to know their secret. Things are going well, until Hidehira's son attacks and "accidentally" kills Master Goku in a competition, leaving Hana and Kimi without their greatest ally.

This sequel to SISTERS OF THE SWORD picks up shortly after the previous volume leaves off, plunging sisters Hana and Kimi, as well as Tatsuya, straight into action as they fight to protect their identity from their uncle Hidehira while simultaneously trying to follow a series of clues leading to Hana and Kimi's mother. Along the way, they will be forced to prove their strength, both of body and mind, in order to outfight and outwit Hidehira's forces.

Since Hana and Kimi are back on the run, there's a lot more movement, and arguably a lot more action, in this book. But the characters are still the heart of the story, and they are all remarkably well-drawn. I especially enjoyed the subtle differences that emerged between the twin sisters, and the development of their friendship with Tatsuya.

The path of riddles they follow in order to find their mother is intricately crafted and had me second-guessing myself every other page. The ending is once again somewhat inconclusive, leaving room for the next book in the series, but this was frustrating only because I don't want to wait for the next book to find out what happens!

If you liked SISTERS OF THE SWORD, then CHASING THE SECRET is a must-read. show less

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

Twin sisters Hana and Kimi had their whole world shaken by the death of their father at the hands of their uncle in a bid to replace him as samurai lord. The only other members of their family to survive Uncle Hidehira's brutal massacre were their mother and youngest brother, with whom Hana and Kimi were finally reunited in CHASING THE SECRET, only to be separated from their friend, Tatsuya, one of the few people who knew that they had disguised show more themselves as boys and learned how to fight in order to protect themselves from Hidehira.

This third book in the SISTERS OF THE SWORD series picks up right where the previous book left off, with Hana and Kimi struggling to protect their mother and younger brother while mourning their separation from Tatsuya. Wearied by continually having to run away from their uncle's men, and with some of them bearing severe battle wounds, the family finds sanctuary in a monastery run by warrior monks, who support them in returning to good health and continue Hana and Kimi's training as fighters.

But when a letter arrives from the palace of the Shogun, ruler of imperial Japan, the sisters are forced to put aside their swords for dresses and appear in court as proper ladies, alongside their mother and brother, in order to convince the Shogun of their uncle's cruelty and win his support in the fight against Hidehira.

Like the two books before it, JOURNEY THROUGH FIRE presents an admirable mix of action sequences and moments in which readers observe the personal growth of Hana and Kimi, whose characters continue to provide inspiration for any strong girls facing the challenges of growing up. The introduction of a potentially new threat from a contingent of ninja creates an additional air of suspense and mystery as the girls try to discover who is after them - and why - before it is too late.

While I personally preferred the previous books in the series, the open-ended conclusion to this book has still left me eagerly waiting for the next one. show less

In feudal Japan, girls do not become samurai but sisters Kimi and Hanna know more than most girls, because they have trained with their brothers. Even though Kimi and Hanna know how to fight they can never attend the dojo school where boys are trained to be samurai. After witnessing the death of their father and brothers they must set in motion a plan to regain their family honor.
I enjoyed this book because it shows that girls can kick butt too. I also enjoyed this book because it should show more courage and strength in woman.
An assignment that I would do with this book is to have the children create a little play within a chapter of the book. show less