Asayi: An Autistic Teen’s Journey to Topple a Shogun in Medieval Japan by Sharon Curcio
There’s harrowing tension in being Asayi. But join Asayi’s circle to oppose a punitive regime. Court intrigues swirl, underbelly characters from different levels of society emerge, deceptions reign, yet truth emerges at the end.
Layers of nuance unfold: the vulnerability of an autistic young woman in a merciless time period; political unrest, physical survival, secret identities, and finding one’s tribe and love while facing injustices and revolts that are just as real as today’s inequities and discontents.
The underdogs prevail in this remarkable medieval Japanese saga replete with true to life characters, political and personal sagas, and the enduring Asian cultural icon: the ghost.
Intrigue, manipulation, deceit, political exploitation in the medieval Japanese culture and a young vulnerable girl makes for a powerful, stirring and inspiring story in Asayi: An Autistic Teen’s Journey to Topple a Shogun in Medieval Japan by Sharon Curcio.
Asayi doesn’t know anything beyond the walls of the home she shares with her father. As a scribe for the shogun in Japan, her father’s work is meticulous and his position as the Elder Scribe is envied by those at court—so envied that he soon meets a questionable death after visiting the palace. Asayi is soon thrust into a world of competing agendas as she’s taken to live at the palace. Here, she must learn to trust herself and to find those around her she can rely on. As a copyist, Asayi has an eye for detail, and patience unmatched by anyone around her; however, Asayi has never spoken. Now thrust into new territory, Asayi must quickly learn the ropes of social strata, cultural norms, and political intrigue or the inner workings of a deceitful court will eat her alive.
Told from a tender, poignant, breathtaking style of writing, Asayi by Sharon Curcio brings every part of medieval Japan to life. Readers will feel the silk threads of the luxurious kimonos, they’ll experience every emotion alongside Asayi as she comes into herself as a woman amid the strife, and their senses will all be engaged as the story unfolds. Asayi, as a character, is so well written. She’s vulnerable both in age and as an autistic person who doesn’t speak. All that Asayi has to endure, fight for, survive and overcome makes this such a riveting, fascinating story, that is stirring and inspirational, and Asayi’s plight throughout this story is so well told with expression and written with skill that readers will experience every high and every low alongside her.
The growth of Asayi was written so well. As the author exhibits many characteristics of her sufferings and conflicts. Asayi was an autistic girl who in the face of abuse and injustice persisted in silence. Through it all, Asayi grew into a young woman with strength and her spirit soared in dignified purposefulness. The manner in the way that Sharon Curcio wrote Asayi’s character and the transformation she underwent as a result of all the various hardships she endured, and then the astonishing change she underwent was a powerful, inspiring and thought-provoking way of providing readers with a glimpse of the Japanese culture during that time and made the entire story come together with Asayi’s life story as the main thread in a beautiful tapestry.
This book has a little something for every reader. Readers who enjoy Japanese medieval fiction, historical fiction, mystery, suspense, or would like a unique, heartwarming and exciting read – will just love this story! Artisan Book Reviews & Promotions can’t recommend it highly enough! Reviewed by Lily Reid for Artisan Book Reviews, Promotion & Readers Choice Award Winning Website,
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by Sharon Curcio.
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Asayi: An Autistic Teen’s Journey to Topple a Shogun in Medieval Japan
by Sharon Curcio.
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