REVIEW • Swords for Everyone (Katana at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee)

Get your cape on with the DC Super Hero Girls™— the unprecedented new Super Hero universe especially for girls! Readers of all ages can fly high with the all-new adventures of Wonder Woman™, Supergirl™, Batgirl™, and some of the world’s most iconic female super heroes as high schoolers!

Sword-wielding Katana isn’t like most high school students–but with classmates like Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl, Super Hero High isn’t like most high schools!

In addition to training to be a super hero, Katana also follows the noble warrior traditions of the Samurai. Now an unknown source has given her the responsibility of guarding a hundred ancient Samurai swords–but why her, and for what purpose? With the help of Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Ms. Martian, and some of her other super friends, she intends to find out. But she just made captain of the fencing team, she has a huge school project due, and a villain with ties to her family’s past seems to be amassing an army. Maintaining her inner peace isn’t going to be easy . . .

. . . but Katana has the steel to save the day![/note]

Welcome to the fourth Super Hero High blog tour!! That’s right! Random House has published Katana’s story in the series, and it is amazing and adorable.

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[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Random House for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “‘C’mon Supers, let’s get this party started,’ Harley Quinn cheered.”

“These Samurai Swords
Entrusted to Katana
The story unfolds.”

Katana’s story unfolds with a message from conch shell. Right at the start, Katana goes missing, after she was supposed to bring back a celebration cake for Batgirl, and the Supers go on a search to find their friend. Katana is found in the hidden underground tunnels at Super Hero High with Samurai sword surrounding her like a protection seal. Since that moment, she tries to figure out what she’s meant to do with these swords, how she’s meant to protect her friends and family, and what happened to her grandmother who went missing years ago.

Why Everyone Should Read
Katana at Super Hero High

Katana is a Samurai warrior superhero.

Katana comes from a family of Samurai warriors. Her beloved grandmother, Onna-bugeisha, was the first female Samurai superhero who ever lived, and trained Katana how to wield a sword and taught her lessons on what it means to be a Samurai. Katana has worked hard to honor her grandmother, and find her path in being a Samurai superhero.

You get to learn about Katana’s history and her culture.

When Katana talks about where she comes from—the Tottori prefecture—you can sense the fondness of her town. When she talks about her grandmother, you can tell how she longs for her grandmother to be there, imparting wisdom to her as she tries to be her own superhero and figure out the meaning of everything that has been going on. You learn about Samurais and Japanese myths (like ghost crabs). It’s a wonderful talk about culture and where you come from.

Katana is tasked to protect.

When Katana finds the hundred ancient Samurai swords underneath Super Hero High, she’s tasked with guarding them. But what for? Throughout Katana at Super Hero High, Katana tries to figure out why these swords suddenly appear in front of her and her role as a superhero. She’s not sure of a lot of thing, but she has her grandmother’s spirit in her to try to get to the bottom of everything and save the world.

It deals with getting out of your shell. (No pun intended. ;))

You will meet characters, like Miss Martian, who have a tough time getting out of their shell and talking to others. When you have a good support system like the Supers—specifically Katana and Batgirl—who encourage each other to be themselves and speak up for what matters, you can do absolutely anything. Even save the world.

Should you read Katana at Super Hero High? Of course! Lisa Yee delivers another relatable Super Hero High book that focuses on the sword-wielding Katana. In this fourth book of the series, you get to see Katana learn about her grandmother’s past, what the swords she finds are meant for, why those Ghost crabs are crawling around the school, and how her fellow Supers come together and save their school and the world.