Alan Gratz - Author

When its ruling Shogun warlords were overthrown in 1867, Japan awoke from a medieval dream to find itself three centuries behind the rest of the world. Almost overnight, Japan transformed itself from a feudal society into an industrial nation. Black suits replaced kimonos, trains replaced horses, and salarymen replaced samurai.

Two decades later, 16-year-old Toyo Shimada is concerned only with surviving his first day at First Higher School of Tokyo and making the Ichiko baseball team. But Toyo is suddenly introduced to bushido - the way of the warrior - when his favorite uncle refuses to accept the modern world and commits ritual suicide.

Now Toyo must prove there is a place for his family's samurai values in the new Japan - or watch his father follow his uncle's path. Toyo finds a perfect match with bushido and baseball - but will his father ever accept an American game that stands for everything he despises?

Dial Books | May 2006 | Ages 12 and Up
Available in hardcover and paperback

"Fast moving, culturally respectful, and flat-out engrossing, this should lead off the next book talk on sports or historical fiction."