August 31, 2013

New Oketani-Lowitz YA Novel and writing for an Interconnected World

Shogo Oketani and Leza Lowitz will have a debut YA novel coming out in November. Jet Black and the Ninja Wind is up on Simon & Schuster's Carousel.

It's about a female ninja, but really about Japan's indigenous Emishi tribes and their fight to save their land. The Navajo Code Talkers also play an important role. The two tribes come together to save an ancient treasure and keep the past alive, with lots of spin-kicking ninja adventure along the way.

Dog-lovers’ bonus: a ninja Akita helps save the day.

Says Lowitz, “I am interested in YA literature as a way to make the world a more integrated, interconnected place. It is my desire that our books help young people break through boundaries and fly.”

Lowitz also recently wrote about intercultural adoption—an excerpt from her memoir in progress is at the New York Times Motherlode Blog here.

SWET member Suzanne Kamata signals an excellent review of Jet Black by Feliza Casano at Girls in Capes.