Colleen says:
Kevin Takahashi is a 16-year-old refugee from San Francisco living in New York City with his dad. San Francisco was destroyed by a kaiju, or monster (think Godzilla). A shark had eaten so much polluted fish that it changed into a monster called a Karkadon and came ashore in San Francisco Bay, wiping out more than half the city. Kevin’s life changed forever that day.
Aimi is a rich girl who is at the last stop in a long line of private schools. She’s a sickly, small girl, made to seem even smaller by the Goth makeup and clothing she has chosen to wear. Kevin defends her from a bully on his first day in a new school and is smitten. There’s a lot more than first love going on between these two teens, however. Then a kaiju appears in the city and Kevin is the only one who seems to be able to fight it off!
In his fear and confusion, Kevin seeks out his landlord, Mr. Serizawa, who tells Kevin about his destiny, which is wrapped in Japanese Shinto myth. Kevin is a Keeper… a keeper of the gods. He is reluctant to believe it, but knows what he sees with his own eyes. Can Kevin fulfill his destiny and still be a 16-year-old boy? What will happen to his new friends and his new love?
I loved this story. It’s a Young Adult novel full of the requisite teen angst, woven around a beautiful Japanese mythological story of the origin of mankind. It is also a story of young love gone haywire. What I really liked, though, was that Ms. Koehler has managed to subtly pass on a lesson about taking care of the planet, and the subsequent consequences of not doing so. It is the quintessential kaiju story and anyone who loves Japanese kaiju stories will like this book, regardless of their age.
Jim says:
Kevin is a survivor of a great disaster in San Francisco. A giant monster had leveled the city, killing Kevin’s best friend among thousands of others. Kevin and his father move to New York City for a fresh start. Unfortunately for Kevin, making friends at his new school while avoiding getting into trouble is the least of his worries. He soon learns he is a Keeper, destined to play a central role in the war of the Kami. Keepers have the power to call forth their own Kami, huge and immensely powerful creatures. Side benefits are flaming hands and, at least in Kevin’s case, a mystical katana.
As Kevin tries to sort through this new development in his life, he has bigger problems. He’s fallen in love with the school’s coolest and most beautiful girl but she’s attached to the school’s toughest bully. Will she like Kevin if she learns his secret? And what is it that she is hiding about herself?
In Raiju, the author has perfectly captured the voice of Kevin, who narrates the story. At the outset, Kevin is the epitome of the “rebel without a clue”. He is angry, suffering from survivor’s guilt, and frustrated with how trouble seems to seek him out. As the story progresses, he develops into a fully realized reluctant hero. To be honest, this is how Peter Parker would be if he were played by James Dean. While the character development is outstanding, the book really shines in the “Hulk Smash!” battle scenes. Giant monsters duking it out is just full of awesome.
Ms. Koehler has a hit with this book. Rousing action, teen angst, and just enough Japanese myth to whet our appetites without becoming a history lesson. In short, this book rocks!
Review by Jim Cobb