Epub file on my kindle corrupted (lost old one and had to redownload everything from Amazon) so am unable to access - thank you for the opportunity.

This attracted me because it reminded me of Mulan, but upon reading it, I was pleased to find that it also called me back to some Miyazaki films that I enjoy as well. A great historical fantasy adventure.

Really beautiful. Great concept, great story, beautiful cover. Writing was pacey and exciting. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I truly enjoyed this story. Risuko grows so much as a character and really starts to come into her own at the end. I hope to read more of her story.

Unfortunately, I request this book 4 years ago and I never got the chance to read it. Therefore, I can't give my opinion and a fair review to it.

This is an excellent middle grade boarding school novel set in Shogun-era Japan. When Risuko's mother sells her into service to become a shrine maiden, Risuko navigates through the teachers and other students at her school for assassins.

I really liked how Risuko adapted to each new situation in spite of grieving the loss of her father and betrayal by her mother. There are great relationships between the students and staff at the school, and Risuko is a great protagonist.

Risuko by David Kudler is a good YA book that kept me hooked from the start and to the very last page.

This was an amazing story! The concept was great, the characters were great, the writing was great! I would love for my middle schoolers to read this! I am really excited to read more.

I wanted to love this book, and I think in the hands of the right reader it would be incredible. It is well-crafted, interesting, and has a main character that you want to root for. I think this style of fantasy just isn’t for me.

This reads like it’s for a younger audience which isn’t a problem unless you go in thinking differently. This didn’t hamper or diminish the reading experience. Risuko aka Squirrel is an interesting and great character to follow. This story sets up the building of what I hope is a great arc.
The Japanese culture was the biggest attraction to the book in the first place and I’m pleased with how it is weaved throughout.

I highly enjoyed the Japanese culture depicted in this book. The slow-paced writing style and the descriptions of the food, locations and culture was a delight to read. I had some trouble connecting with the characters though and I found that the ending was quite rushed, especially compared to the otherwise slow pace of the story throughout the rest of the book. Although I enjoyed this book quite well, I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to want to pick up the sequel. If you like books that feature Japanese culture and lore though, you might want to give this book a try.

I did not finish this book, so I will be not be writing a review. It was very slow paced and, as much as I tried, I coulnd't be bothered with the story.

I am just no longer interested in reading this book. I have attempted to start it multiple times and could not get into the story. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I felt the setting was very well written and the storyline definitely had potential and I could see where it was going, but the pacing was very slow. I don't think this is the right grade or genre for me, and what I did read was more in the middle grade category than YA. Unfortunately I did not finish the book due to this.

I find Japanese culture absolutely fascinating, so when I was scanning Netgalley and saw the cover for Risuko, it immediately caught my eye. Once I read the book description and learned that it was a historical fiction novel set in 16th century Japan, I leapt at the opportunity to read it.

Set in 16th century Japan, Risuko is the story of Risuko (Squirrel) and her journey to navigate war torn Japan. The book opens to Risuko being forced to leave her home and joining up with a group lead by the mysterious Lady Chiyome. Risuko is then taken to a mysterious school where it isn't exactly clear what the students are training for...

The aspect I enjoyed the most about Risuko was the 16th century Japan setting & the Japanese culture woven throughout the story. One of my biggest pet peeves is a historical fiction book that does not "feel" like it is taking place in intended era or location in which the story is taking place. The setting is such an important facet of historical fiction, so it is crucial that the author takes special care to include the details (fashion, speech, manners, etc) of the time & place the book is set in. It is usually pretty clear when an author does their homework and strives for an accurate representation. In the case of Risuko, I felt the setting & culture was well researched on Kudler's part & well presented in the book, which is something I appreciate & respect.

Obviously I am always a fan of books (especially ones for a younger audience) that center around strong females, in this case the females in Risuko are training to be warriors. Books like this are so important for young girls these days, and I will never tire of them. In regards to target audience, this book felt more middle grade than YA. This isn't a criticism, but just an observation. I feel like this book would appeal more to those who read right on that line between MG & YA.

Unfortunately, despite the intriguing synopsis, Risuko is a very slow moving story where not a whole lot actually happens. Actually, I would venture to say that the synopsis is very misleading and is not an accurate account of the book at all. Take this portion of the synopsis for example...

"Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel) is a young, fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies, moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn't possibly have the power to change the outcome. Or could she?"

From the synopsis we learn that there has been a war going on for hundreds of years, but we never really get a clear sense as to what is going on in the war & how Lady Chiyome and her group at the school are connected. I guess I was anticipating intense training sessions, action packed fight scenes & political intrigue... but in reality I got the day-to-day tasks of Risuko as the lowest ranking student at the school. Tasks like animal skinning and serving dinner took up way too many pages in this 230 page book. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the little things in novels that help set the scene, especially in historical novels, however in a novel this short you really can't dedicate so much time on mundane things like food preparation. I just wish the author would have dedicated as much time on the plotline & characters as he did with the historical context and culture.

There was a disconnect somewhere along the line while reading Risuko that created a barrier between the story and myself. I think this has to do with the fact that a few of the plot points were unclear to me and I didn't really understand where the author was going with the story. I felt like I was missing chunks of info that I really needed to make sense of the plotline. Another big issue for me with Risuko was that I never felt any type of connection to the characters. Sure, Risuko was likeable enough, but she didn't have that "spark" of a strong female lead. The remaining cast was lacking development, so they felt one-dimensional. I was never given enough from the other characters to get a clear sense of their motivations or purpose in the plot.

In summary, the setting & historical context was there, but the plotline & character development came up short. It seems as if my opinions are in the minority since Risuko does have decent ratings on Goodreads. The second novel in this series, Bright Eyes, is expected to be published in March of this year. Actually while looking up details on the second book, I discovered that there are a 3 companion novellas in the series that take place before Risuko? I however will not be continuing on with this series.

*Big thanks to Stillpoint Digital Press for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*2.5 Stars*

“The blossoms fall just once each winter, yet in our memories, they fall every day.”

Conflicted. I feel as if I overthink many of the YA/MG books I read, but in the case of Risuko: A Kunoicki Tale, I feel very little. It's a boring and lacking in action for much of the books, but I also feel like many young girls would really enjoy the adventures of Kano Murasaki without thinking too much about how underdeveloped the world is. Yes, it is based on Japanese history, society, and culture- but using only Japanese words does not make for excellent world-building. To my knowledge, Kudler has the intention of making Risuko's story a series of some sort, so the episodic nature of the first book may bode well for future novels. Is it memorable? Not particularly. But it is enjoyable.

Books concerned with or inspired by Japan and its culture/history always catch my interest and this one was no exception. Although I am typically not a YA reader, I very much enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and well-developed and the plot was intriguing. I liked how the cultural elements stayed as faithful as possible to the Japanese culture. However much I enjoyed reading this, though, I kept thinking throughout that the plot was moving too fast and that some actions or events should have been explained more or elaborated on more. Despite this drawback, I will certainly be looking out for the next installments.

This book was a bit slow for me to get through but I really enjoyed it nonetheless - I absolutely loved the setting and the plot - I think the delivery was just a bit hard to get through.

Rusiko is a beautiful story set in sixteenth century Japan. Females are warriors and Japan is tearing itself apart all in the belief they are helping put the country back together.Risuko is full of beautiful language, amazing settings and jam packed with cultural knowledge. The descriptions of the fighting dance was excellent, the smooth movements and grace, the prediction of moves and serenity. I felt I was there doing the moves with Risuko in the falling snow with the other woman.

Kano Murasaki has loved climbing her whole life. So much so that she has been nicknamed Risuko by her family - Squirrel. One moment she's simply climbing a tree with her sister, and the next she's going off with Lady Chiyome, who tells her that her mother has sold her to Lady Chiyome's services. Risuko doesn't know what this entails, but she has no choice but to go with Lady Chiyome. She is taken to a little villa of sorts where she is being trained to become a Kunoichi - but she doesn't know what that is. For now, the only thing she can do is to do her duties as well as she can, and hopefully train well in the process.

The story was very nice. It was light-read but still very interesting and surprising. It was very refreshing and beautiful story.
I received this ARC from Stillpoint Digital Press and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members Titles via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Risuko is a unique historical YA fiction book which brings light into Japan's historical darkness. Recommended to everyone.