‘Something terrible has happened,’ I say. ‘I can feel it.’
Sensei’s words race through my head. It’s not what you can hear that matters, but what you cannot hear. It’s not what you can see that is important, but what you can’t see.
As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I spy Taji and Sensei asleep. I can’t see Kyoko anywhere.
I panic. ‘Kyoko is missing.’
Sensei Ki-Yaga and the Samurai kids are journeying through China when Kyoko is kidnapped. Sensei’s old adversary, Lu Zeng, is challenging him to try to get Kyoko back. But getting inside the Forbidden Palace, where Lu Zeng lives, will not prove easily – and outwitting him to get Kyoko back will be even harder.
Monkey Fist is the fourth title in the wonderful Samurai Kids series. As with the other books, readers are offered an exciting mix of action, humour, obstacles and tension. Niya, the viewpoint character, is a likeable narrator, with the reader able to see his flaws as well as his strengths, and like him all the more for them.
Monkey Fist can stand alone for those new to the series, but will be adored by those who have had the chance to read the earlier stories.
A wonderful new addition to a wonderful series.
Samurai Kids Book 4: Monkey Fist, by Sandy Fussell
Walker Books, 2009
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