Category Archives: Book

Risuko Review—BookTuber WhyMermaids: “Really enjoyed!”

BookTuber WhyMermaids gives a quick review of Risuko! 

Check out WhyMermaids’s YouTube channel for this and other great YA book reviews!

WRAP UP | march 2016

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InDTale Magazine Risuko Review: “★★★★½—Impossible to put it down!”

InDTale Magazine, a news and review journal for indie publishing, posted a glowing featured review of Risuko!

It is easy to invest in the characters, and once the reader starts this book, it’s almost impossible to put it down. Risuko goes through a lot of character growth throughout the book. An entertaining story with excellent writing and haunting descriptions, a relatable heroine, and fast-paced writing. 

Continue reading InDTale Magazine Risuko Review: “★★★★½—Impossible to put it down!”

Read Blades — the next exciting chapter in Risuko!

16—Blades

In which Risuko, Emi, and Toumi learn a lot about knives — and rocks. (Teen Historical Adventure)

As I entered Kee Sun’s kitchen, I kept my face down so as not to catch Toumi’s eye, or Emi’s. I didn’t want either of them to see that I was upset. I took a stack of bowls and began to walk toward the dining hall to get ready for the mid-day meal, but Kee Sun stopped me. “No, girlie,” he chortled, his scar twisting, “Not to go in there this morning. Yeh don’t go in there while Lady Chiyome is running her ladies through their paces unless yeh want yehr head handed back to yeh in one of those bowls.”

I looked at him blankly.

“There’s classes yeh three aren’t welcome to join till yeh’re initiated,” he said with something like a smirk, “so we get ready in here and then run like wood demons to serve out the meal once they’re done. Now, set yehr little squirrel fingers to work.” Continue reading Read Blades — the next exciting chapter in Risuko!

Read Risuko Chapter 15 — The Music Lesson

15 — The Music Lesson

In which Risuko learns to play the flute, but all is not as it seems, and someone says farewell

When Fuyudori cheerfully woke us the next morning, none of us—Emi, Toumi, Mai, Shino, or myself—was very happy about it. My legs were sore from the combination of riding all day and then staying on my feet all evening. And that wasn’t even counting scurrying through the juniper and gripping that branch with my knees while arrows hissed overhead.

One of the older girls whined, “Why do we have to get up? They have kitchen duty.”

“You have duties outside the kitchen, just as I have had for the past three years,” Fuyudori said. She turned to me, Emi and Toumi. “Little ones, dress and get to the kitchen. You’ll have your music lesson later today.” Continue reading Read Risuko Chapter 15 — The Music Lesson

Flying Squirrel: Risuko Kickstarter zooms past 100%!

Flying Squirrel — Risuko Kickstarter fully fundedWell look at that! With 36 hours to spare, Risuko has crossed the dreaded Kickstarter 100% funding threshold. Risuko has truly become a flying squirrel!

Thank you so much to all of you who have pledged your support to the Kickstarter campaign — and especially to those of you who increased it, as well as those who’ve let their friends know! Every pledge counts, and I truly appreciate your help.

I’ve been thinking about stretch goals — incentives above and beyond the ones I’ve already offered — and I think I’ve come up with a good one: Continue reading Flying Squirrel: Risuko Kickstarter zooms past 100%!

Read Risuko: Chapter 14 — Squirrel on the Roof

14 —Squirrel on the Roof

Kee Sun celebrates Risuko, Emi, and Toumi’s first night at Mochizuki — though not without some unexpected flare-ups.

I was certain that Kee Sun wouldn’t let us eat until after all of the cleaning was done. But as we brought the last of the dishes in from the hall, we found the cook smiling and gesturing to the small feast that he had laid out for us on the low cutting table: grilled beef, kimchee, soybeans, rice—even sake—was set out just as it had been for the banquet.

“Magnificent!” crowed Kee Sun. “Perfect! Not a drop spilled, and everything served hot! The three of you girlies made the last two look like the clowns they are.” Continue reading Read Risuko: Chapter 14 — Squirrel on the Roof

Risuko MonsterLibrarian Review: “A fascinating tale”

I enjoyed Risuko very much. The prose is very vivid, the culture and Japanese language blended in as smoothly as supernatural elements in a well-written fantasy. Risuko is caught between trying to function in a war torn world, and daring to dream about making a difference. — Michele Lee, MonsterLibrarian.com

MonsterLibrarian Review: Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler

Kano Murasaki, better known as Risuko (Squirrel) loves only one thing more than climbing—her family. But her mother has just sold her to Lady Chiyomi, a mysterious woman who runs a compound that trains women to be soldiers in Japan’s hundred year long civil war. It takes Risuko a while to figure this out, but readers will know it right away. Chiyomi’s women are spies, body guards, assassins. They are intelligent, strong, capable, and clever. Risuko fits in well, except it’s not the traditional role little Japanese girls grow up imagining themselves in.

But Risuko isn’t a traditional girl either. Her father was a famous samurai. He fought in the war until he was also forced to choose between honor and family. Chiyomi choose Risuko, not for her climbing skills, but for another, more personal reason. Continue reading Risuko MonsterLibrarian Review: “A fascinating tale”

Read a new chapter of Risuko: 13 — A Banquet

13 — A Banquet

Risuko, Emi, and Toumi are put to work serving, and discover that the kunoichi are not the shy, polite shrine maidens they had expected.

We began by fetching a large bag of rice from the storehouse. A pair of rats stared up at us when we entered, but Toumi growled at them while I swooshed the long stick that Kee Sun had given us to shoo them with, and they scattered. The bag was heavier than I was, and it took the three of us to drag it to the kitchen. Toumi muttered the whole way, and I would be lying if I said that Emi and I didn’t join her once or twice.

Kee Sun kept us busy, hanging pots over the fire to steam the rice and soybeans in, lowering a battered metal grate to serve as a grill, fetching more charcoal. As the sunlight began to fade from the room, we lit candles in the kitchen and in the hall. Continue reading Read a new chapter of Risuko: 13 — A Banquet

Kirkus Risuko Review: “A tight, exciting, and thoughtful first volume”

The first of the major reviewers, Kirkus Reviews, has given Risuko a glowing review!

“A tight, exciting, and thoughtful first volume in what promises to be a fine series about a female ninja.” — Kirkus

Continue reading Kirkus Risuko Review: “A tight, exciting, and thoughtful first volume”

Risuko Review: “Read this. You won’t regret it.”

Happy Year of the Monkey! Not only is it a chance to celebrate the traditional beginning of the new year (Japan switched to the Western calendar in the 19th century), but it’s a chance to share a new review of Risuko:

I’m here to tell you: read this. You won’t regret it. The story is filled with character tension and growth, intrigue, and immersion in a Japanese world that feels incredibly authentic. — Kate, Hounds & Habits

Continue reading Risuko Review: “Read this. You won’t regret it.”