Ninja: Death Touch by Chris Bradford (Ninja Trilogy #1)

9/10

Ninja: Death Touch is by Chris Bradford, the author of the Bodyguard series of novels, and the award-winning Young Samurai series.

Ninja: Death Touch sees Taka, a young ninja in training, who along with Cho and the other ninja are ready to fight Lord Oda's cruel army. They discover that they have found their hiding place, and prepare for battle. Lord Oda has vowed to destroy them and their village, and Taka might not be the right choice to send into battle as he doesn't have the strength or build like his bitter rival, Renzo, who regards his father as a coward who ran away from the battle of Black Eagle, but village gossip isn't always true as he finds out. Taka tries hard to make his body and mind strong, but needs to control his anger against Lord Oda's men and his Rival Renzo's jibes at his abilities.

Due to his size and strength, Renzo sees himself as better than the other trainees as he has too large an ego and can't control his temper as it flares up at times. Taka starts out not liking him as he's brash, inconsiderate and keeps making fun of him; though later he has to put his trust in him even when things start to look bad for the village. Cho is the female trainee who gets on well with Taka, helping him when Renzo tries to hurt him. She is a good friend but unpredictable later.

Ninja: Death Touch is a fun, dangerous adventure where Lord Oda could be victorious in battle if Taka and his friends can't fend off his ruthless army. I liked the death touch aspects of the story at the beginning that the Grandmaster of the ninja clan teaches them. The story is short, but sweet and full of excitement that runs all the way through. Chris Bradford writes books that can grip readers worldwide. He has won several awards such as the Northern Ireland Book Award, enjoys Martial Arts and has trained in samurai swordsmanship, earning a black belt in Kyo Shin Tai-Jutsu, the art of the ninja. Chris knows that his passion for fighting keeps his writing sharp and thrilling, and his art can be seen on the Ninja: Death Touch photo-shoot.

Barrington Stoke books are perfect for children and young adults who have learning difficulties such as dyslexia. They are easy to read and full of action and adventure. You will have no chance of getting bored or distracted either as Barrington Stoke are at the moment celebrating their fifteenth birthday - not bad for a company that was considered daft for wanting to publish these kind of novels.