Customer Reviews

Born in the Year of Courage

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I read historical fiction to my husband & pre-teen kids nearly every evening, and this book is one of our recent favorites. Based on the life of a real person, Born in the Year of Courage chronicles the adventures of a young Japanese man who is marooned on an island and later rescued by an American ship. As exciting as that is, what happens after his rescue is every bit as intriguing. Yes, we gained some valuable insight into the mindset of early-19th-century Isolationist Japan, but what kept us coming back night after night was the story. Manjiro's gripping narrative of survival and self-discovery had not only my kids, but my husband as well, repeatedly begging for "just one more chapter" before bed. It was, as they say, a "very good read".

This book is in additional reading in my son's history (Story of the World book 4.) As part of his langauge arts (we homeschool) I am having him read at least one additional book with each history chapter. He chose this book this week and is really enjoying it. He read 7 chapters today and didn't want to put this book down.

I read it before he did and was impressed with the strength of the main character (not physical strength, but character.)

My son is 12 years old and in 7th grade.