Sword (Forbidden Tales Series)

Publishers Weekly

Chen (Wandering Warrior) again mixes martial arts, Chinese lore and light romance with great success in another Forbidden Tales novel. His cunning heroine, Miu Miu, steps forward on her 15th birthday, determined to kill the emperor who murdered her father. Secretly trained in martial arts, Miu Miu repeatedly and narrowly evades misfortune and death. Her many near-misses keep readers hooked, while Chen, in a languid poetic voice, masterfully weaves in Miu Miu's thoughts about traditional Chinese ways ("She knew for certain that she did not want to be a human hen [whose] chore was merely to lay eggs and daily face the bullying of roosters"). After Miu Miu unknowingly challenges her betrothed to a kung fu duel-nearly killing him-the two pledge their love and team up to slay the evil emperor. Here Chen's story gets less grounded in reality, involving magical swords and other fantastic elements. In an unexpected twist, the tale ends with a satisfying look at family honor and the triumph of love. Atmospheric and exciting. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

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Children's Literature - Elizabeth D. Schafer

Miu Miu, age 15, seeks justice for her swordsmith father's murder in this "Forbidden Tales" series novel. The narrator, Ar Kin, an elderly book dealer, told the author this story during China's Cultural Revolution. Themes of honor, loss, and vengeance guide Miu Miu, who feels spiritually connected to her deceased father who was slain prior to her birth. Her mother demands Miu Miu leave their Goose Village home to find Tong Ting, her father's apprentice's son who was chosen to become Miu Miu's husband, and together kill Emperor Ching, who ordered her father's torture and death. She says Tong Ting will have the other half of a necklace Miu Miu wears to prove his identity. Miu Miu, dressed as a young man, carries a treasured sword forged by her father, and practices wu shu, warrior martial arts moves Master Wan taught her, as she travels toward the emperor's palace. Fighting a stranger who insults her, Miu Miu realizes her opponent is her betrothed. Together, Miu Miu and Tong Ting outsmart guards to enter the Tang Dynasty capital, Chang'an, and scheme how they will assassinate the emperor. Violence and supernatural events emphasize the despair, betrayal, and courage Miu Miu experiences. Miu Miu and her mother represent strong females whose devotion and sacrifice for family endures. Pair with Adeline Yen Mah's, Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society (2005). Reviewer: Elizabeth D. Schafer

VOYA - Laura Woodruff

A Chinese folk tale by the popular author of Wandering Warrior and China's Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution (Delacorte, 2003), the book begins as a young narrator describes the storyteller, an ex-convict and rare survivor of a twenty-year sentence in China's Siberia. At first shunned, Ar Kin becomes a respected teacher and source of books, which are routinely destroyed under the Communist regime. What follows is the tale that the narrator hears before Ar Kins' house is burned. Miu Miu, daughter of China's greatest sword maker, has never known her father. Commissioned to create a sword made of magic metal borne of a concubine, he was horribly murdered when he delivered the sword to the Emperor right before Miu Miu's birth. On her fifteenth birthday, Miu Miu learns that she is destined to avenge his death with the help of her betrothed, son of her father's assistant, whom she has never met. As her mother prepares her by disguising her as a man and unearthing her "female sword" made of the same metal, Miu Miu is secretly happy that she has become an expert in self-defense. She begins her long, uncertain journey with a joy and confidence that will be sorely tested. Vividly and poetically written, this novel is reminiscent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It effectively uses folktale elements, including violence and magic, giving the story a flavor of authenticity and creating excitement and suspense. Simple vocabulary and fast-paced dialogue make it a winner. Reviewer: Laura Woodruff

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up

In a short introduction, Chen describes an ex-convict who was both an outcast and a sage in the village in China where he grew up. It was from this man that the author first heard the story he tells here. That prologue is immediate and vivid, placing readers in the world where Chen was a child. Unfortunately, the style changes in the novel, and the story of Miu Miu, who must avenge her father's death at the hands of the emperor, is never as personal or vibrant as those initial pages. The 15-year-old martial artist leaves home, disguised as a boy, with the intent of killing the emperor. On the way she meets Tong Ting, another martial artist to whom she was promised in marriage as a baby, and they work together to face the emperor. When they are unable to overcome him, the destiny written for them is death, but Miu Miu believes that her father would want her to live. There is likely to be a cultural disconnect for American readers, as the novel features the traditions of warriors drinking each other's blood as a pledge and widows hanging themselves as honorable deaths. If the character development were deep and genuine, these cultural gaps would fill easily, but the people in this story never become more than folktale figures. For its folkloric quality, the novel is certainly worth reading, but students looking for tales of kung fu and magic might be better off with Lawrence Yep's "Tiger's Apprentice" series (HarperCollins).-Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT

Kirkus Reviews

In the China of the Cultural Revolution, Ar Kin returns to his village after years spent in prison for speaking out against Communism, bringing with him a library of forbidden books and a head full of forbidden tales. One such is that of Miu Miu, who instead of seeing the matchmaker on her 15th birthday undertakes the task of avenging the murder of her father's murder, a swordmaker put to death by the Emperor after making the perfect blade. Miu takes another of her father's weapons and sets off disguised as a boy. After several adventures, she meets her betrothed, and the two plot to kill the emperor together. Miu Miu, like Ar Kin, the teller of her tale, defies tradition and the ruling powers and is punished, but survives. Ar Kin's tale of revenge and mystical Kung Fu takes place in ancient China, and both the era and the characters come to life. Fans of Asian martial-arts movies and manga will be satisfied and eager for the second volume, due in the fall. (Fantasy. 12-16)