Thursday, November 13, 2014

The Name of the Blade by Zoe Marriott - ADVISABLE

Marriott, Zoe The Name of the Blade, 358 pages.  Candlewick, 2014.  $17.

Mature Content: G; Language: PG (10 swears); Violence: PG-13 (a bit bloody in the major fight scene).

Mio's dentist parents are off for a long awaited vacation over the Christmas holidays and also missing Mio’s 16th birthday, leaving her behind under the care of their tenants, whose daughter also happens to be Mio’s best friend.  The pair are headed to a costumed dance party and as the perfect accessory, Mio decides to wear an ancient family heirloom - a samurai sword that her deceased grandfather showed to Mio only once and told her specifically not to touch before she turned 16.  Ha.  Mio’s decision unleashes evil onto the world and only the help of her best friend, a new mysterious guy who appeared with the sword, and a group of magical felines (kitsune) who may really want Mio and her friends dead.

If the action sequences were just a little less bloody this would have also been great for upper elementary.  This is the second book that I have read with kitsune in it this week and I really like them.  There is the possibility of future stories about Mio, but this is a well-rounded book all on its own.

MS - ADVISABLE

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