Week 14 - Mystery & Adventure!

Hello Professor Huggins and classmates! As we reach the end of the reading blog, this week, I review books based in the adventure and mystery. Sounds fun! I've enjoyed reading and reflecting on the various books over this semester and I hope you enjoy reading the blog journey!     

    Preus, Margi. 

    Heart of a Samurai: Based on the True Story of Manjiro Nakahama. Amulet Books, 2010.

    ISBN 978-0-329-85966-4

 

    The middle grade novel Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, is a fictionalized retelling of real-life historical figure, Nakahama Manjiro, a man who lived during the latter half of the 1800s, remembered as the first Japanese person on record to immigrate and live in the United States of America. Manjiro lived an incredible life, journeying from being a teenage fisherman to holding the title of samurai; in addition to Manjiro becoming a Japanese-to-English translator and diplomat who played a key early role in bridging peaceful relations between Japanese and North American people during Japan’s transition away from over two hundred and fifty years of isolationism, told through Preus’ thrilling and fun writing. Whereas a few characters and plot points were invented to streamline novel into a traditional story structure, Preus nonetheless creates an exciting adventure for readers based in true events that shaped North America and Japan’s histories together to our countries’ relations in the modern day.   

  Manjiro is a compelling protagonist, whose curiosity, wonder and accomplishments during his travels are very engaging for readers, especially for older child readers who may see themselves, their own dreams and fears in Manjiro’s journey. Along with the excitement of Manjiro’s travels between nations, there is an element of suspense throughout the novel as well; as Manjiro faces prejudice from white Americans and suspicions of being a spy by the Japanese people, as Manjiro’s love for both his home of birth and chosen home in North America occurs during an era in which immigration between the east and west were still an extreme rarity. Although civilians in both North America and Japan consider people from the other country “barbarians,” with Manjiro facing cruelty and internal struggle because of his sincere love for both nations, there is still hope, joy and heart to be found as Manjiro still finds human connection and acceptance, such as in the case of his friendship with the American Captain Whitfield, helped Manjiro with becoming settled in the US. Manjiro’s journey in not only reconciling his love for both Japan and North America, but his development from being a young, humble fisherman to one of the earliest Japanese diplomats to the US is not only an engaging adventure for young readers, but the fact that the novel is one man’s extraordinary life based on real history makes Manjiro’s adventure to becoming a samurai in America all the more fascinating to read.

    Johnson, Varian. The Parker Inheritance. Scholastic Inc., 2018.     ISBN 978-0-545-94617-9

 

    The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, is mystery novel for upper elementary and middle grade readers, follows protagonist Candice Miller, a twelve-year-old African American girl, a confident bookworm and her neighbor/best friend, eleven-year-old Brandon Jones, as they spend their Summer in Lambert, South Carolina, discovering a mysterious letter in Candice’s late grandmother house, sending the two friends on a quest, not only to find treasure, but to also discover the truth of the letter’s author and uncovering the true history of their town. Although at first glance, The Parker inheritance may appear to be your standard mystery novel, yet it tackles many more angles than a puzzle or treasure hunt through the story. Candice and Brandon’s quest for truth leads them to confronting difficult social issues within lambert, such as racism, homophobia, segregation, white privilege, biases and prejudice, in addition to exploring Candice’s conflicted feelings about her parents’ recent divorce, and her relationship to her grandmother inspiring her to solve the puzzle left behind in her family’s house. This is a very engaging and ambitious novel about history and identity, one that can interest readers in its adventure and mystery element, but can engross readers through its themes of discovering identity of self, how extensive human cruelty can reach, but also the importance of holding onto hope, kindness and friendship even in times of extreme difficulty and hardships. Johnson’s novel is very moving with Candice and Brandon’s friendship at the center, reading as sweet and genuine as they try to search for justice and fairness in their treasure hunt that ends up uncovering dark town secrets. The novel doesn’t shy away from difficult or uncomfortable topics, such as discussing how oppressive being a black person living in the deep south during the early 20th century could be for many people in that time period. While the timeline of events in the story and the mature topics may be too much for younger children, this story can be a very engaging read for older elementary and middle grade children, which may spark a discussion for them about their senses of identity or a discussion with the reader’s classmates, parents and guardians about the grim side of North American history in the last century.