Samurai Shortstop [Paperback]

Alan M. Gratz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2008

Tokyo, 1890. Toyo is caught up in the competitive world of boarding school, and must prove himself to make the team in a new sport called besuboru. But he grieves for his uncle, a samurai who sacrificed himself for his beliefs, at a time when most of Japan is eager to shed ancient traditions. It’s only when his father decides to teach him the way of the samurai that Toyo grows to better understand his uncle and father. And to his surprise, the warrior training guides him to excel at baseball, a sport his father despises as yet another modern Western menace. Toyo searches desperately for a way to prove there is a place for his family’s samurai values in modern Japan. Baseball might just be the answer, but will his father ever accept a “Western” game that stands for everything he despises?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Toyo Shimada, 15, watches his beloved uncle, Koji, commit seppuku (hara-kiri) the day before he begins his first year of boarding school. This act sets into motion a story that is firmly grounded in the transition between traditions and modern values in Japan, a place where samurai are no more and where, according to Toyo's father, Western influences are eroding Japan's cultural heritage. Harsh and sometimes brutal incidents in Toyo's school echo the larger upheaval and confusion in Japan as the people struggle with blending their beliefs with disparate Western tenets. One place where they mesh is in baseball. Toyo sees the ancient warrior art of bushido implicit in baseball and works on convincing his teammates that in order to win the game, they must first learn to balance individual accomplishments with teamwork. Actor Arthur Morey hits a home run with his narration of Alan Gratz's debut novel (Dial Books, 2006). Although he doesn't differentiate much between characters, his Japanese pronunciation is believable and he manages to convey both solemnity and thoughtfulness in his telling. Japanese terms sprinkled throughout are either defined or easily discerned from context. A wonderful addition to public and school library collections.–Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 8-11. Growing up in Tokyo in the 1890s, after the emperor outlawed the samurai tradition of his ancestors, Toyo was not trained in the old disciplines. He must find his own path between the old ways and the new ones, which are symbolized for Toyo by the sport he loves: baseball. In the riveting opening scene, Toyo watches his father help Toyo's beloved uncle Koji perform suppuku, asamurai ritual involving disembowelment and decapitation. Soon after this disturbing event, Toyo becomes a boarder at the most esteemed high school in Tokyo. His high hopes are tempered by a brutal hazing inflicted on the entering class, and the ongoing cruelty of the students in power. Under his father's tutelage, Toyo's growing understanding of traditional samurai arts enables him to grow in skill and self-discipline both on and off the playing field. An engaging protagonist in a harsh, difficult situation, Toyo must work to earn the respect of his father and his teammates, but he will have readers' sympathies from the beginning. Unfolding through the convincing portrayals of individuals in turmoil, the story culminates as most baseball novels do--in the big game. An appended author's note discusses Gratz's research and lists his sources. A memorable chronicle of boys' inhumanity to boys, and a testament to enduring values in a time of social change. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Speak (February 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142410993
• ISBN-13: 978-0142410998
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of a number of books for young readers, including Samurai Shortstop, Something Rotten, Something Wicked, The Brooklyn Nine, and Fantasy Baseball. My wife and I are also the authors of the Gratz Industries blog, where we chronicle our attempts to lead creative, productive lives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Wins, June 16, 2006

By 

Martha Bennett Stiles (Paris, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samurai Shortstop (Junior Library Guild Selection (Dial)) (Hardcover)

Alan Gratz's triumphant first YA, SAMURAI SHORTSTOP, opens on the narrator's description of watching his beloved uncle gut himself. Baseball and violence carry this impressively researched depiction of Meiji Japan, and of relationships, between young males, and between father and son. In this polished, always suspenseful story, son and father help one another mature.

Martha Bennett Stiles

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful and memorable, April 10, 2008

By 

Susan Harkins - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samurai Shortstop (Paperback)

It's 1890 and you're in Tokyo, Japan. Between classes in the most prestigious high school in town and baseball practice, you learn the old ways--the ways of the samurai. That's Toyo Shimada's life and we get the pleasure of going along for the ride thanks to Alan Gratz's brilliant story telling.

Toyo suffers from familiar teen angst: a parent who doesn't understand him and friends who try to understand him, but often fail. It's the core of most teen stories, but Toyo's world is changing. Old Japan is dying and a new Japan is rising.

His father represents the old Japan. When the emperor reforms their ancient military system and requires all samurai to hang up their swords, Toyo's family is caught in the middle. The opening scene, where Toyo and his father assist Toyo's uncle in seppuku, ritual suicide, is so intense that you'll wonder if Toyo's just having a bad dream.

Even though Toyo's father isn't samurai in the traditional sense, he too decides he can't live in the new Japan. He expects Toyo to assist him in seppuku, when the time comes. First, he must teach Toyo the ways of bushido, the warrior's code.

Between lessons and baseball practice, Toyo learns to meditate and use a sword--and worries about his father. When the time comes, will he have the courage to do what has to be done? Baseball is his passion, and as applies bushido to baseball, he comes to terms with the changing world around him and begins his journey into manhood.

Samurai Shortstop is the story of Toyo's search for his own path in a time of social change and family turmoil. Toyo's personal struggle is one all teens can appreciate. He struggles with peer pressure, studies, and parental control and expectations. Nineteenth century Japan comes alive and provides the color and unexpected tension that every good story needs.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burning Besuboru!!, February 28, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Samurai Shortstop (Junior Library Guild Selection (Dial)) (Hardcover)

Samurai Shortstop is about a 16-year old Japanese boy, Toyo. Right from the first sentence of the book it really grabs your attention. Toyo's uncle is preparing to commit sepukku. This is considered an honorable way to kill yourself in Japan. The story draws you into the life of Toyo and helps you to understand his relationship with his father and learning the art of bushido. He goes off to a private boarding school where he learns how to stand up for himself and fight off the seniors who are out to torture the first years. I liked this book because it combines the sport of baseball along with Toyo's high school experience in Japan. If you want to read a book that is hard to put down and will keep you intrigued until the very last page, then this is the book for you.