Shy Ninja

by Ricardo Sanchez, Adara Sanchez, Arianna Florean (Illustrator)

Overview

Young Rena suffers from a social anxiety disorder. It keeps her from engaging at school, from hanging out with her best friend in person, or participating in any sort of group activity. Pressed by her mother to find some social outlet, she enrolls in a School for Ninjas—and in an instant, her life changes. Rena’s instructor, the mysterious Dysart, tells her that her presence fulfills an ancient prophecy and that she will become the Ninja legend known as “The Ghost.” Assuming she can even get past her own anxieties, will she help Dysart return the Ninja to their former glory, or is Dysart planning to exploit Rena for his own cryptic aims?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643375267
Publisher:	Humanoids, Inc.
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Sold by:	HUMANOIDS INC - EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	49 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 18 Years

About the Author

​Ricardo is a comic book and mystery novel writer, toy buff and life-long Scooby-Doo fan. His projects include Legends of the Dark Knight and Teen Titans Go! for DC Comics, Boo the Dog for Dynamite, and Spotlight Soccer (Sports Illustrated Kids) for Stone Arch Books. His Elvis Sightings Mystery series has received rave reviews for its humor and inventive plots and his original graphic novel A Hero's Death, funded on Kickstarter and then published by IDW, has been hailed as "heart-warming yet heart-breaking and magical." When he's not writing, Ricardo maintains a vintage toy blog, drives 70's muscle cars, and shops year round for Halloween decorations for his home in California.
​Adara is a sophomore in high school, an illustrator, creator and cos-player. In addition to originating the idea for Shy Ninja and co-developing the story with her father, she shares a writing credit with him for Dynamite's Boo, The World's Cutest Dog comic book.​
​After attending an art-curriculum high school, she completed her formal education by graduating from the Academy of Visual Arts and New Media in Rome as a Comic Artist and Colorist. In 1997 she began her career at an animation studio and after that, in 2004 she started working in comics. She's currently working as a Pencil Artist/Cover Artist for Disney America, Marvel, and IDW (Star Wars Adventures, Black Panther, Super Hero Adventures, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Zootopia, Toy Story, Frozen).

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2021

Gr 5–8—Rena, who is socially anxious, would rather spend her days in her room playing video games (she connects virtually with her friend Sidney, who can't leave his house because of an unnamed medical condition), but she feels pressured to socialize with others. Her therapist gives her the assignment of joining at least one club and hands her a flyer for the Watsonville Ninja School. After she fills out the school's online test on a whim, the master of the school shows up and tells Rena she's accepted. Ninja training is her opportunity to get everyone's attention away from her, especially if she can learn some of those vanishing ninja skills she's seen in movies. And she soon learns that she is the Ghost, who, according to ancient prophecy, will save all ninjas from ruin. Refreshingly, Rena isn't defined by her social anxiety, and outside of school, she's an energetic and self-assured character capable of making friendships on her own terms. The richly colored artwork adds to the story's lively tone with spirited action scenes and vivid facial expressions reminiscent of the Nickelodeon Avatar series. Rena has tan skin and teal hair, and her mom has light skin and orange hair. Although most other secondary characters are also portrayed with light skin, Sidney is Black. VERDICT With a sensitive depiction of mental illness and plenty of dynamic action, this is a fun addition to graphic novel collections.—Amanda Melilli, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas

School Library Journal