Review by Booklist Review
Ryo is bored with his life following in the footsteps of his father as his pottery apprentice. Life spices up when he witnesses a monk take down a bunch of thieves. Wanting to learn martial arts, Akio, the monk, suggests Ryo visit Unzen, a hermit living in the mountains. With his father's blessing, Unzen teaches Ryo over the next year and introduces him to the Hidden Ones, a community Aiko oversees. A key to Ryo's training is understanding that martial arts isn't a means to be the best fighter instead it is a tool for self-defense. The Hidden Ones especially focus their training around the tenet of mindfulness. Overall, poet Mitton tells a moralistic fable of how one's destiny is not always written in stone and that individuals can choose their own path in life. This may be a hard sell for some young readers who may find the emphasis on Eastern spirituality far removed from their own lives, so recommend it to those looking for more thought-provoking tales.--Lindsey Tomsu Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-In a small village many years ago, Ryo trains to be a potter, like his father. But one day, when a lone warrior from a disciplined group known as the Hidden Ones comes and fights off dangerous bandits, Ryo begins to rethink his life plan. When he turns 13, the choice is Ryo's on how to spend his time, and he decides to find a hermit who can train him in the concentrated fighting ways of the Hidden Ones. By making this choice, the boy must abandon his family, his village, and everything that is familiar to him for the time being. Ryo's intensive apprenticeship teaches him not only about fighting but also how to best live his life with principles of mindfulness and an appreciation for the present moment. His journey has unexpected twists and turns, and he runs into challenges of violence and loneliness. Along the way, he meets important mentors and friends and comes to recognize the importance of being more aware of his inner self. VERDICT An intriguing mix of introspection and action.-Margaret A. Robbins, University of Georgia, Athens © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Ryo, a young adolescent in a bygone Japan, embarks on a mindful journey of self-discovery.Ryo is listless in his pottery apprenticeship under his father, a renowned artist. He is intrigued when he witnesses Akio, a monk, skillfully defeat a band of "brigands" threatening his village. Inspired, he follows the monk's advice to seek the hermit Unzen in the mountains to initiate his martial arts training. After mentoring him, Unzen introduces him to the Hidden Ones, a vigilante group that trains in all forms of self-defense and mindfulness practices at their camp in the mountains. There, Ryo is teamed with three other students to sharpen his skills for their first mission. When disaster strikes, Ryo finds his training put to the real test to overcome not only physical, but mental obstacles in order to survive. Mindfulness is the book's major theme, with poetic interludes of mindfulness practice interspersed throughout the text. Unfortunately, there are cultural blunders. References to flying winged dragons ignore traditional Japanese depictions of wingless water-based creatures. Japanese greetings and commands are misused in social interactions. Both the introduction of the concept of yin and yang and portrayals of varying martial arts styles evoke images from other Asian countries. Regrettably, these missteps uproot the story.Instructional in meditative practices; unmindful of its cultural context. (Fantasy. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
