Senshi

February 1, 2013
Rileigh, or Senshi as she was once known, is a sassy high school girl in love with her boyfriend, Kim. It just so happens that her relationship with Kim has spanned 500 years--Rileigh is a powerful, reincarnated samurai warrior. What begins as a date with the love of Rileigh's many lives suddenly turns into a booty-kicking battle against ninjas. Next, Rileigh's samurai nemesis, Whitley, whom she left for dead in the last book, Katana (2012), starts lurking around. Moreover, her friends seem to be in the grip of sinister mind control as Rileigh finds herself having to fight off surprise ninja attacks at every turn. But the real tragedy is that Kim suddenly dumps her for his thought-to-be-dead betrothed from the 1400s. Riding the subplot of teen romance, the story's forward motion occasionally gets bogged down by repetition. Most interesting are the infrequent flashback chapters of Senshi in Japan when she's on the verge of becoming a 15th-century courtesan. Eventually, the mastermind behind the havoc is discovered, and Rileigh must join forces with friends she thought foes and foes she thought friends in order to destroy the villain and save her life and her love. Never terribly fraught or demanding, but with a twisty plot and death-defying action, this romance delivers teen yearning with martial arts kicks. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

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May 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-Senshi and Yoshido were powerful samurai in 15th-century Japan. Murdered by one of their own, their souls spent 500 years searching for one another. Finally, Senshi was reincarnated as Rileigh, Yoshido as Kim, and they were reunited, overcoming evil forces to be together again. Only it hasn't exactly been a fairy-tale ending. Ninja attacks are escalating-and they seem to be especially focused on killing Rileigh. Typically Rileigh would love a good fight, but she's having trouble controlling her ki, the power that flows from her soul. Then her heart shatters along with any control she had left when Kim does the unthinkable and chooses Sumi, who claims to be his reincarnated betrothed, over her. Her new friends and band of samurai warriors are also giving her the cold shoulder, probably to avoid the post-breakup fallout. You'd think that would be enough for any girl samurai to take, but it seems that Whitley, her arch nemesis and ex-boyfriend, didn't die in the fiery inferno as everyone assumed. Whitley's alive and wants to team up. Rileigh may be forced to take Whitley up on his offer in order to save the world. Gibsen's action-filled sequel to Katana (Flux, 2012) puts Rileigh center stage once again, but the secondary characters are fleshed out enough to lend credibility to their actions and to the story line. The plot moves quickly and weaves in romance, teen angst, and samurai vs. ninja fighting sequences. Fans of the first novel won't be disappointed, though readers who pick this one up without reading Katana first may be a bit lost.-Heather E. Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2013
Grades 7-10 Skater girl Rileigh is coming to terms with being awakened as Senshi, a reincarnated samurai warrior, by learning about her powers while avoiding being drawn into a shadowy government organization. Then her soul mate Kim's former betrothed is awakened, throwing everything into question. Gibsen jumps right in with little backstory (Katana, 2012), which could be confusing to new readers. Alternating time linesRileigh battling ninja in contemporary St. Louis and Senshi's journey to becoming a samurai in 1491 Japankeep the story moving, with Rileigh tossing pithy quips Buffy-style and delivering kick-ass action. Gibsen leaves the ending wide open for Rileigh's next adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)