I read many books this summer, but none were as fast-paced and as touching a story as Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus. This true story is about a Japanese fisher boy in the 1840's that is swept out to sea during a tsunami with his four closest friends. Eventually, American whalers rescue them and take the boys in. Surprisingly, only the main character, Manjiro (later named John Mung) is willing to live ten years from home and experience American life and western culture. On his journey through this new way of life, he finds a new language, friends, foes, love and brotherhood. However, nothing will satisfy him more than going home and becoming his wildest dream... A Samurai, and an important historical figure.
The aspect of the book that is most fascinating is the fact that Manjiro had such a strong will which allowed him to survive and thrive, whether it is being shipwrecked at sea or living in a foreign culture with all it's difficulties. With this amazing will, hope and knowledge, he believed and eventually achieved all his dreams, no matter how impossible they seemed. The fact that this boy was real and his adventures actually occurred way back in the mid-1800's is really the most astonishing fact.
