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The power and prowess of ninja never seem to lose their appeal to young readers, especially boys. Blue Fingers, a suspenseful, action-packed coming-of-age story set in feudal Japan, offers an up-close look at this noble, fierce way of life.Through an odd twist of fate, a stubborn twelve-year-old boy named Koji is kidnapped by a secret ninja clan and taken to its hidden camp high in the mountains. He wants desperately to return home, but that is forbidden. He must forget his old life and become a ninja-or die. In this carefully researched and well-crafted novel, Koji must learn to survive in the mysterious and dangerous world of the ninja and fulfill a destiny far different from any he could have imagined. Afterword.

Cheryl Whitesel is the author of REBEL: A TIBETAN ODYSSEY, published by HarperCollins Books for Children in 2001 to excellent reviews. She lives in Western Springs, IL.

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The next morning, Spider laid out the sketchy map of the castle on the grass. "Add anything you noticed," he commanded. Koji gazed at the paper in silence. If Spider would like to know about anything he saw, surely he would most like to know about the new weapon. But what good would it do him to reveal the musket now? Yet there might come a time when the information would be precious. Koji touched his arm where Spider had cut it. Clear Mist had bandaged the wound the night before, but it was still sore. "Why do you want to know what I saw in the castle, anyway?" Koji asked, although he thought he knew the answer. "Why do you think?" Koji was disgusted. He had hidden his firecrackers in one of the storeroom caves, but he wished he had them now. He wanted to light one and push it up Spider's nose. "You were in the castle with me, hidden somewhere," he said. "So think for yourself what the layout is like. I won't help you." It took all his courage to roll the map shut. "Think hard before you make threats you are powerless to carry out," said a rasping voice from behind. Koji and Spider spun around together. Dark Fire sat on a nearby stump with his walking sticks on the ground beside him. On his knee, he balanced his pet cricket in its bamboo cage. He held one end of a long thread. The other end was tied around the leg of a crow with clipped wings. It hopped around, pecking at the ground. Koji and Spider waited for Dark Fire's attention while he gave the string a harsh tug. He chuckled over the crow's antics as, cawing, it fell and fluttered its wings in a panic. After it finally calmed down, Dark Fire tugged the string again. "I am becoming impatient with you, farm boy," he told Koji. He kept pulling the glossy bird closer. When it was near, he gently slid open the door of his pet cricket's cage. He tipped it up slightly and the cricket slid out onto the grass in front of the crow. For a moment, the crow and cricket both stood motionless. Then the crow jerked its head forward and snapped up Dark Fire's beloved pet. With a twitching leg sticking out of its beak, the bird hopped away. Its head bobbed as it swallowed. Dark Fire slid shut the door of the empty cricket cage. He folded his hands and turned back to Koji, who was stiff with horror. Dark Fire's eyes were flares as he rasped, "Unroll the map." Koji was afraid to disobey, yet his hands were paralyzed. "It is time for you to become one of us." "I'll try to be like you," Koji said with a frantic bow. Dark Fire looked down at his walking sticks. "Not like me. You are young and strong enough to complete missions, so you will begin as a genin like my grandson." He motioned toward Spider. "Forgive my impoliteness at suggesting that I could be like you, our leader," Koji said, still trying to please the old man. But Dark Fire's cheek twitched in irritation. "Groveling disgusts me. And I am not the true clan leaderthe jonin. His identity is secret." "But you alone communicate with him, Grand-father," Spider said proudly. "That is my role as the number-one chunin." Looking down at his weak legs, Dark Fire sighed. "After all, I cannot be a training master like the other chunin." Koji glanced at the empty cricket cage and the tame crow nearby. It hopped around, trying to bite off the string that was tied around its leg and snaked across the ground toward Dark Fire. Then he scanned the clearing full of people. Does our jonin live here in the camp? he wondered. Does he know me? But he glanced at the tail of the string, near Dark Fire's foot, and didn't dare ask. Dark Fire seemed to guess Koji's thoughts. "You are unwise to wonder who our jonin is," he said. "Now draw!" While Dark Fire watched, Koji forced his trembling hand to draw a few rooms, stairways, and large jars on the map. He pointed out the hall where O Kei had talked about a network of threads. But he paused before drawing the secrecy room, and as he held his hand motionless, Dark Fire nodded his approval. "You will be a ninja until the day you die," Dark Fire said, and Koji laid down the brush. If Dark Fire was satisfied with what he had already drawn, perhaps it was safest to stop. "Continue being forthright with me and your death day may remain distant." Dark Fire gazed at Koji's bandaged arm. When Koji didn't explain the injury, the old man said, "Spend today with my grandson. If you learn a few things from him, tomorrow's challenge may be eased slightly. You see, you are ready to begin training." "Training? I don't want" Dark Fire held up his hand for silence. "How long will you remain a bird who walks everywhere on its scrawny legs, never daring to try its wings? You will begin training tomorrow, whether you wish it or not. However, before you start, let me caution you that mastery of weapons and your arms and legs will only take you so far along the ninjutsu path. Our way is more about caring for each other, compassion, integrity." Dark Fire reached down for the end of the string. When he snapped it ever so slightly, the crow hopped and fluttered its way back to him. "You see, competence and wisdom are found on different life journeys. One does not lead to the other." "Is that what I want?" Koji murmured. "Wisdom?" As if the crow were a baby, Dark Fire reached down and lifted it in his arms. "It's what you should want." He motioned for Spider to take over with Koji and hobbled away with the crow perched on his shoulder. "Watch this." Grinning, Spider picked up the map of the castle, folded it in half, and tore it down the middle. "What are you doing?" Koji cried. "Don't you realize we know every inch of the castle? We didn't wonder about the castle at all, but we needed to test how you would respond when we asked for your help. Would you tell us the truth about what you saw or try to mislead us? Didn't you guess that your assignment was not what it seemed?" "No. How did I do?" "Come on, let's fight." With his chest puffed out importantly, Spider hoisted Koji up and pushed him to one of the sparring circles. He sprang into the air as flexibly as a shadow, raised his fists as he landed, and began hitting out to warm up. Dancing just out of reach, he lightly slapped Koji's cheeks. "Come on, peppercorn, show me your spice!" "No!" But Koji struck out with both fists. The right connected, but it didn't slow Spider, whose fist exploded in Koji's face. Koji fell and sat dazed. Blood dripped into his mouth. Gulping, he pinched his nostrils together. "Weak little paddy frog," Spider muttered, kicking at Koji. He drew in a breath, then placed the sole of his left foot up against the inside of his right knee. With the palms of his hands together, he raised his arms over his head and stood motionless. He chanted under his breath with his eyes turned upward, then let his head fall onto his chest. He sprang out of position. "You're not ready for tomorrow," he warned Koji before trotting away. Koji sat down near a scaling wall and, feeling glum, watched Raven Wing, Minnow, and Sky swarm up and down. Helped by clawlike pieces of metal strapped to their hands, they looked as comfortable as flies on the vertical surface. Will Dark Fire expect me to do such impossible things? he wondered anxiously. "Koji." He turned to find Falcon kneeling behind him, looking as if he wanted to talk. But Spider ran up and grabbed Falcon by the shoulder as if to pull him away. Shaking him off, Falcon cast an indulgent smile up at him. "It won't hurt if I talk to him, Spider. You don't understand how he feels." Gently, he added, "Koji, things will go easier for you if you accept being here." Koji gazed at Falcon, realizing that if any ninja could become a trusted friend, it was him. He snatched a leaf off the ground and tore it to pieces. "I can'tI should be with my family." "See? He says he refuses," Spider said as he sauntered off. "Falcon, you'll make him soft!" He snorted over his shoulder. "You say you want to be with your family," Falcon said to Koji. "Don't you realize that if you ever see them again . . ." "Don't say "if"!" "When, then. Won't they be impressed to see you changedso strong and competent?" Koji glanced up, shocked and interested. He remembered a time, years ago, when a traveling peddler had been surprised to learn that he and Taro were twins; he assumed Koji was younger. "No," Papa had said. "Koji is moments older. But he's immature compared to his brother, and that fools you. Look, can't you see that they're exactly the same height?" Later that night, Papa and Mama murmured together, glancing at the twins now and then. Finally, Papa announced, "In the past, I've told you to try to act more grown up, Koji. But never mind. This way is best. Perhaps superstitious strangers won't even guess that you're twins." Now as he gazed at Falcon, Koji wondered what it would be like to go home as a trained warrior, to meet strangers who assumed he was older than Taro. "I don't know whether . . . ," Koji began. But was Falcon really someone in whom he could confide? He took in a deep breath. "I don't know whether my family could ever be proud of me again. I did . . . something bad." "Mistakes are normal. Part of being alive." "But I let down my whole family." "Still, Koji, it's a hard heart that won't give the person he hurt a chance to forgive him."Copyright 2004 by Cheryl Aylward Whitesel. Reprinted by permission of Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Company.

Excerpted from Blue Fingers: A Ninja's Tale by Cheryl Aylward Whitesel
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Blue Fingers

Blue Fingers

0618381392

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