Samurai Shortstop

By: Alan Gratz

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Tokyo, 1890. High school can be brutal, even in turn-of-the-century Japan.

From his first day at boarding school, Toyo Shimada sees how upperclassmen make a sport out of terrorizing the first-years. Still, he’s taken aback when the seniors keep him from trying out for the baseball team–especially after he sees their current shortstop. Toyo isn’t afraid to prove himself; He’s more troubled by his uncle’s recent suicide. Although Uncle Koji’s defiant death was supposedly heroic, it has made Toyo question many things about his family’s samurai background. And worse, Toyo fears that his father may be next.

It all has something to do with –the way of the warrior–but Toyo doesn’t understand even after his father agrees to teach it to him. As the gulf between them grows wider, Toyo searches desperately for a way to prove there is a place for his family’s samurai values in modern Japan. Baseball might just be the answer, but will his father ever accept a “Western” game that stands for everything he despises?

such a great story

me and my fiance listened to this while driving and she was cheering on the characters in the story by the end of it. amazing story that's is very enjoyable.

Truly well done

A truly well thought out and written book
I look forward to more books from this author.

Incredible

So entertaining and the lore is wild, i love listening to this book and the reader does it perfectly