Rating: 
Summary: Solid, suspenseful fantasy
Review: "Little Sister" is a little book, but with a big story inside it. Kara Dalkey crafts a poignant, suspenseful fantasy, with plenty of Japanese folklore and a dash of romance. It keeps going at a fast clip and is written wonderfully, although it feels somehow unfinished. (Since there's a sequel, don't worry about it)
Mitsuko is a shy young girl in the Court, overshadowed by her older sisters, especially the newly-married Amaiko. But when warrior monks threaten her family, her father sends them off to a country estate -- except that the monks attack, and kill Amaiko's husband Yugiri. Amaiko, lost in grief, seems to fall into a coma -- her soul is gone to look for her dead husband.
After her family is captured, Mitsuko embarks on a desperate journey to find Yugiri, so that Amaiko can get on with her life. She ends up with an unusual helper -- a tengu (birdlike demon) named Goranu. He takes her to meet gods and devils, down into the depths of the netherworld. But can Mitsuko find Yugiri and rescue her family as well?
Ah, if only other historical fantasies were as pretty and rich as this one is. Dalkey clearly has a handle on her Buddhist and Shinto folklore, as well as her historical knowledge of politics and customs. And she makes it all an integral part of a touching, intense plot.
Dalkey's writing is spare and vaguely formal, but she gives plenty of detail to the supernatural scenes. And the intricate plot is a convincing one, with Mitsuko struggling to do all sorts of things to rescue her family, and lay Yugiri's ghost to rest. The only downside is that while the ending wraps up most of the loose ends, it feels like it's leading to the next book.
Mitsuko is an excellent heroine. She starts off timid, but her courage and strength start growing through the course of the novel. And Goranu is a real winner -- he's a trickster with an acid tongue, but he's actually very kind and eventually loving to Mitsuko.
"Little Sister" is a beautiful little historical fantasy, with plenty of action, romance, and a sweet little romance woven in. Dalkey wrote a winner with this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Praises for "Little Sister"
Review: "Little Sister" is a wonderfully written book that leaves you begging for a real end.That was its only real weak point,but it also lets your imagination run wild with what Mitsu-chan might do. It was much more fun than "Of Nightengales that Weep" which was much more serious. Having Mitsuko go and meet all sorts of mythological characters was a very interesting twist,especially her meeting up with Susano-o and the god of the dead. Read this book now, it's worth it!!
Rating:
Summary: Praises for "Little Sister"
Review: "Little Sister" is a wonderfully written book that leaves you begging for a real end.That was its only real weak point,but it also lets your imagination run wild with what Mitsu-chan might do. It was much more fun than "Of Nightengales that Weep" which was much more serious. Having Mitsuko go and meet all sorts of mythological characters was a very interesting twist,especially her meeting up with Susano-o and the god of the dead. Read this book now, it's worth it!!
Rating:
Summary: *****
Review: A Journal of a young girl who's family was seperated. When her oldest sister's husband died she soul was lost. In serch of her soul she met a tengu who helps her, and end up falling in love with her and asks of her to help him become mortal. Very interesting book, can't waite to read the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: A good, pleasant read
Review: I found this book in the school's library, and the cover attracted me. I checked it out, thinkig that the book was worth a read. It really was. The plot was intriguing, so I kept reading it and finished in two days. The story is set in Ancient Japan, along with some historical facts and religious thinking. The plot consists on the littles sister of a wealthy and respectable family attempting to save her big sister's soul. The little sister, along with a tengu, sets on a journey to the Realm of the Dead, and at each experience she learns more about life and grows into a more matured person. One thing I would have preffered is that there were more adventures (hence the 4 stars); still, the book was fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: LIKE CROWN DUEL and COURT DUEL
Review: I got this book because of the art cover...it look suspiciously similar to _CROWN DUEL_ and _COURT DUEL_ by Sherwood Smith. In the end, I was gleeful to find out that the same art designers and drawers did both the covers and this! You can't go wrong with these books! The covers speak for themselves!
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Kara Dalkey's "Little Sister" is a beautiful and stirring story about a young Japanese girl, Mitsuko no Fujiwara, who has to recover the wandering soul of her beautiful eldest sister Amaiko after it goes missing when she witnesses a terrible tragedy. Mitsuko is accompanied on her journey by Goranu, who is a tengu (a sort of demon in the shape of a man-sized bird). The story is both well written and deeper than one might expect for a book classified as "Young Adult" reading. The relationship between Mistuko and Goranu is particularly moving, especially at the book's conclusion. To say more would be to spoil it, but trust me, you will be moved by the end. A great book for intelligent readers of any age.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Kara Dalkey's "Little Sister" is a beautiful and stirring story about a young Japanese girl, Mitsuko no Fujiwara, who has to recover the wandering soul of her beautiful eldest sister Amaiko after it goes missing when she witnesses a terrible tragedy. Mitsuko is accompanied on her journey by Goranu, who is a tengu (a sort of demon in the shape of a man-sized bird). The story is both well written and deeper than one might expect for a book classified as "Young Adult" reading. The relationship between Mistuko and Goranu is particularly moving, especially at the book's conclusion. To say more would be to spoil it, but trust me, you will be moved by the end. A great book for intelligent readers of any age.
Rating:
Summary: A Story Full of Ancient Japanese Folklore
Review: Little Sister is rich with Japan's history and folklore. It tells the story of Mitsuko, a young thirteen year old girl who lives at Court. But when stories are heard about dangerous monks setting fire to councillors houses, Mitsuko and her family are sent into hiding by her father. Yet, while journeying on the road, they are attacked by monks, and Mustako's brother-in-law is killed. Her sister Amaiko, who was married to the dead man, was saddened so much by her husband's death that her soul traveled elsewhere, leaving her body an empty shell.Mustako knows she must save her sister, and she runs away, leaving her mother and other sisters alone. She takes Amaiko with her, hoping to find help. She stumbles upon some tengu (Japanese shapeshifting "demons") and befriends one of them, who is named Goranu. Goranu helps her to retrieve her sister's soul, and their adventures take them to the king of the sea, a Japanese "hell" and so on until she finds her brother-in-law's ghost. She knows that unless she finds a way to let his soul rest in peace, his ghost will go on haunting and her sister will never be able to go on with her life. Yet still, what can she do? She doesn't know where her family has gone, and her only friend is a demon. Little Sister is a wonderful tale, well-written and full of Japanese history and folklore. Good for any ages, boy or girl, whatever. Anyone would like it. If you read it and like it, go on with its sequel, The Heavenward Path. ***If you like Kara Dalkey's writing, read her Water Trilogy, which contains the three books Ascension, Reunion, and Transformation. These three books tell of the lost city of Atlantis. Read them all!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Story Full of Ancient Japanese Folklore
Review: Little Sister is rich with Japan's history and folklore. It tells the story of Mitsuko, a young thirteen year old girl who lives at Court. But when stories are heard about dangerous monks setting fire to councillors houses, Mitsuko and her family are sent into hiding by her father. Yet, while journeying on the road, they are attacked by monks, and Mustako's brother-in-law is killed. Her sister Amaiko, who was married to the dead man, was saddened so much by her husband's death that her soul traveled elsewhere, leaving her body an empty shell. Mustako knows she must save her sister, and she runs away, leaving her mother and other sisters alone. She takes Amaiko with her, hoping to find help. She stumbles upon some tengu (Japanese shapeshifting "demons") and befriends one of them, who is named Goranu. Goranu helps her to retrieve her sister's soul, and their adventures take them to the king of the sea, a Japanese "hell" and so on until she finds her brother-in-law's ghost. She knows that unless she finds a way to let his soul rest in peace, his ghost will go on haunting and her sister will never be able to go on with her life. Yet still, what can she do? She doesn't know where her family has gone, and her only friend is a demon. Little Sister is a wonderful tale, well-written and full of Japanese history and folklore. Good for any ages, boy or girl, whatever. Anyone would like it. If you read it and like it, go on with its sequel, The Heavenward Path. ***If you like Kara Dalkey's writing, read her Water Trilogy, which contains the three books Ascension, Reunion, and Transformation. These three books tell of the lost city of Atlantis. Read them all!!!
|
