Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori Book One

Takeo escapes death when his remote mountain village is slaughtered when he is taken in by Lord Otori Shigeru and made Shigeru's adopted son. The story is set in a world similar to, but not identical to, feudal Japan, and the story is awash in swords and vengeance and retribution and pacts and secrets. There's everything you'd want in a good story—mystery, intrigue, adventure, and romance. The sensory details of the world sweep the reader into the story so that you feel you can smell the perfume of the beautiful Lady Kaede Shirakawa and you can feel the heat of the blood as it is wiped from the sword.

A 1001 Children's Book You Must Read.