Seven Deadly Shadows

Description:

This thrilling YA retelling of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai features a girl tasked with saving the world from eternal darkness. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows and Marie Lu.

Seventeen-year-old Kira Fujikawa has never had it easy. She's bullied by the popular girls in school. Her parents ignore her. And she's also plagued with a secret: She can see yokai, the ghosts and demons that haunt the streets of Kyoto.

But things accelerate from bad to worse when she learns that Shuten-doji, the demon king, will rise at the next blood moon to hunt down an ancient relic and bring the world to a catastrophic end.

Not exactly skilled at fighting anything, much less the dead, Kira enlists the aid of seven powerful death gods to help her slay Shuten-doji. They include Shiro, a kitsune with boy-band looks who is more flirtatious than helpful, and O-bei, a regal demon courtier with reasons of her own for getting involved.

As the confrontation with Shuten-doji draws nearer, the fate of Japan hangs in the balance. Can Kira save humankind? Or will the demon king succeed in bringing eternal darkness upon the world?

Brief description:

Valynne E. Maetani is a writer and member of We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, Ink and Ashes, was the winner of Tu Books' New Visions Award and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor, was a Junior Library Guild selection and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book, and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit her online at www.valynne.com.

Review Quotes:

“Kira is a satisfying heroine, and her personal struggles between familial expectations and loyalty to the family shrine add complexity to her journey. Fresh urban fantasy grounded in Japanese culture.” - Kirkus Reviews

"Kira is a distinctly Japanese character whose sensibilities are refreshingly un-Westernized. Fans of Julie Kagawa's Shadow of the Fox and Kat Cho's Wicked Fox will also appreciate the vivid, sometimes gruesome, writing reminiscent of punchy anime dialogue." - Publishers Weekly

"The arresting action and imagery are engrossing. Perfect for fans of Japanese folklore and manga similar to Death Note." - Booklist

"Many cool monsters and some suspense keep the pages turning, with a bit of romance and banter." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books