[Book Review] Young Samurai #6 – The Ring of Fire

I've been for such a long time for this book to come out! Well, to be honest... I kind of think that the 5th book is a bit childish. Dunno, is it only me getting older or is is the book is kind of a bit of kiddies. Anyway, stepping that aside (well, it is children's li, the story very interesting. It's heart warming to see Jack being reunited with his friends. And there're also a lot of tragic cases and scenes that robs your heart. When I read the the Ring of Fire, reading Jack and his friends plotting, making strategies, advancing and so on, I felt just like being with them!

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Summary

After a snowstorm forces him to take shelter, Jack comes across a village in need of protection from raiding mountain bandits. Torn between moving on or helping, Jack is persuaded to stay and fight the villagers' cause.

[Book Review] Japanese Verbs: Saying What You Mean

This book helped me a lot in my Japanese studies! Simple explanation, good examples, and wonderful teacher!

First I knew about Tim-sensei (the book’s author) was when I was looking for a website which teaches you about Japanese verbs. His site came first on the google search list. The website was very simple and I find it really useful; many notes to take, many lessons to learn from, and many other things.

Because I didn’t have a printer back then, I use to take 2 hours of my time a day, and sit next to the laptop with a notebook and my pencil case.

I will copy each lesson with a determined heart. Until one day I ended up buying the book from the Amazon!

I never regretted my choice. It really did help me in many ways!

[Book Review] My Brother Sam Is Dead

Although I found the title… kind of weird (lame), I found the story good and interesting. I only read it out of boredom.

It takes place in America 1600 (or 1700), about Sam Meeker who left his home in Redding, Connecticut, a town loyal to the king, to fight with the rebel army (the English), he places his family in a very difficult position. The story teller is Sam’s little brother, Timothy Meeker.

What I learnt in this book:-

I learnt a lot about the revolution war, as well as how the people use to live in those days. It’s a great mix of fact and fiction.

[Japanese Book] Kokugo ni-jō tanpopo

This is a Japanese elementary book for grade two (I think/guess). I got this book from a Japanese embassy here in the country I am currently living in. It's cool to learn the way how native children learn. It's too bad I only got this book at the moment (I wish at least I'd have the first book).

I begin learning with this book after I mastered all the Kana characters and after getting to know some of the Kanji characters.

It won't get you anywhere if you just opened the book without having to know anything of how Japanese system works.

Even after I learnt the Japanese verbs from Tim-sensei, adjectives, particles, etc.

[Book Review] Young Samurai #5 – The Ring of Water

In this 5th book, Jack will continue his journey with an awesome group; himself, a ronin (masterless samurai), and a (former) thief girl. These three makes an awesome group, and an astounding form of alliance!
Jack returns to his old school, and meets his former rival and enemy, Kazuki and his gang! 
I say that this book is an admirable peace of work. There's a lot of riddles to solve that I happened to know from the internet, hehe.

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Summary
Autumn, 1614. Bruised and battered, Jack Fletcher wakes up in a roadside inn wrapped only in a dirty kimono. He has lost everything, including his memory of what happened.
Determined to discover the truth, Jack goes on a quest to retrieve his belongings - his precious swords, his friend Akiko's black pearl and most important of all,

[Book Review] Young Samurai #4 – The Ring of Earth

The 4rd series of the Young Samurai felt a little sad without Jack's friends (Yamato, Saburo, Kiku, and the others). But the adventure is interesting and thrilling. Jack meets new friends, and begin his rough training to become a ninja! Imagine that! The Ring of Earth holds a lot of twists which I find really heart wrecking!

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Summary

With no sensei to guide him, he has just his wits and his swords against many new and unknown enemies, as he journeys along the treacherous road to the port of Nagasaki and perhaps home...

But the Shogun’s samurai are hot on his trail. Barely escaping their clutches, Jack runs headlong into a trap. Kidnapped by ninja and led to their village deep in the mountains, Jack has no means of escape.

[Book Review] Young Samurai #3 – The Way of the Dragon

The book Young Samurai – The Way of the Dragon contains more action and battle than the previous two. It also holds many twists.
As the story continues, a great battle occurs; many dies and many who sacrifice their lives for the living (people who they held dear).
There were touching scenes that had let a tear or two roll down my cheeks.
Anyway, this book is way more thrilling than the previous two. And I would say that I loved it and had read it more than twice already!

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Summary

June 1613. Japan is threatened with war and Jack is facing his greatest battle yet.

Samurai are taking sides and, as the blood begins to flow, Jack's warrior training is put to the ultimate test. His survival - and that of his friends -

[Book Review] Young Samurai #2 – The Way of the Sword

This book is a sequel of Young Samurai – The Way of the Warrior. The story is more interesting and thrilling. I also learnt and benefitted a lot from the book.

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Summary

After a vicious ninja attack left him orphaned and stranded in Japan, Jack Fletcher managed to complete his first year of samurai school. Still, his troubles are far from over. The prejudice of his Japanese classmates has gained him dangerous enemies within his school, and Dragon Eye -- the ninja who killed his father -- is still after him. Jack's only hope of defeating them lies in surviving the Circle of Three: an ancient ritual that tests a samurai's courage, skill, and spirit to the limit. For most, gaining entry into the Circle means honor and glory, but for Jack it's a matter of life or death.

[Book Review] Young Samurai #1 – The Way of the Warrior

Excited, thrilled, touched, were my feelings while I read the Young Samurai – The Way of the Warrior. The story takes you a hundred years back in Edo era in Japan (1600s), about a young boy named Jack Fletcher, a 12-year-old English boy, who was sailing with his father and his crew in search of the legendary Japanese islands.

The group got shipwrecked off the coast of Japan in 1611 in a village named Toba, whereupon the crews are attacked by a ninja (which they believe at the time to be wokou, Japanese pirates). Only Jack survives and his father leaves him with his prized possession, a rutter (a precursor to the modern navigation chart).

Jack is rescued by legendary samurai swordsman Masamoto Takeshi who decides to adopt him until he is old enough, which makes Masamoto's son Yamato envious. Jack discovers that the leader of the ninja was known as