Yu XIAO XIAO itibaren Sevillano, Ciénaga, Magdalena, Colombia
What a great read! The book's setting is Tokyo in the 1890's, during the Meiji regime, when the current emperor was trying to Westernize Japan. As a result, samurais were ordered to lay down their swords and abandon samurai code. Toyo is the son of a samurai and torn between his father's samurai culture and the new Western cultural practices that Japan has adopted, including baseball. The opening chapter, during which Toyo must participate in his uncle's suppuku is riveting. Toyo does not want to be samurai, but his father teaches him bushido--the code of the samurai--which Toyo adapts to help him hone his skills in baseball. A showdown game between Toyo's school team and an American team ends the story with a bang.