SuitabookThe hidden blade
Sherry Thomas
- Reading
- Try reading together at first, pausing when danger or separation comes up. Let your reader decide whether to continue, take a break or talk about what feels difficult.
- Themes
- Identity and belonging: The girl learns that she is the daughter of an English adventurer and a Chinese courtesan. This creates a clear starting point for considering how family background may shape a young person’s sense of self.
- Strength and independence: A mysterious figure offers to instruct the girl in martial arts as a path towards strength and independence. Her training links physical skill with the possibility of self-reliance.
- Separation and escape: The boy is taken from his family and held hostage by his uncle; he dreams of escaping to find his friend in China. The situation makes freedom and connection central concerns in his journey.
- Worth knowing
- The outline includes a gunshot, family separation, hostage-taking and training to become deadly. These elements may merit a check-in if peril or harm is difficult for your reader.