Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring

Gr 6 Up—This stand-alone set in the "Naruto" universe focuses on an 11-year-old girl named Sarada who sets off on a quest to find more information about her father. She and her friend Cho-Cho go into the forest, where they find Lord Seventh (Naruto, the greatest ninja in the village). He rescues them from an attacker and then brings them to a tower where Sarada's father, Sasuke, has been staying. At times the plot moves quickly, with lots of action, fights, and magical ninja attacks. There are many clones and characters with ocular powers and a character who is kidnapped through teleportation. But sometimes, between the action scenes, the story slows down to focus on Sarada and the drama unfolding in her life. There are multiple flashbacks here, both Sarada thinking back to her childhood and Naruto thinking back to his own youth as he tries to connect to her search for her real parents. The artwork is filled with energy, from the dramatic close-ups of characters' faces during emotional scenes to blurs of motion during the fight scenes. This book would be most appreciated by fans of the "Naruto" universe, because they will understand the background of the characters and will enjoy the flashbacks to the earlier books in the series.