Uehashi, Nahoko. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. Scholastic. 2009. (pbk.) ISBN: 978-0-545-00543-2. Gr 5 and up.
-- School Library Journal, 4/1/2009
If you like Japanese or any Asian mythology or fantasy, you’ll definitely want to pick up this book! Balsa, the main character, is the perhaps the best part of the novel, only second to the legend of the Moribito itself. The true mystery of this is kept until the end and it keeps the reader reading to discover the secret of this intriguing legend. I finished this book in a day!I love the fact that the main character is a female, which reflects the modern idea of girl power (even though the book itself is written at a later time and now translated). The fact that Balsa is the only leading female-hero in a male-dominant society, yet holds such high respect, is very inspiring. The story has just 
about everything a great fantasy novel needs: a legend, a protector, a protected, the hint of love, and action.
This review is from a member of theTeens Know “Best" YA Galley Group of the St. Paul Public (MN) Library and the Metropolitan State University Library and Learning Center, a part of YALSA’s Young Adult Galley/Teen Top Ten Project, which uses 15 public libraries and school library media centers from across the country to provide feedback to publishers of young adult books.
