One Piece Volume 36 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for Teen

The enchanted “Devil Fruit” gave Monkey D. Luffy the ability to stretch like rubber, but it also took away his ability to swim, which hasn’t deterred Luffy from his dream.  One day he will become the King of the Pirates.  Now, Luffy and his very own pirate crew, known as the “Straw Hats,” sail the oceans on their ship, the Merry Go, searching for the legendary treasure known as “One Piece.”

As One Piece, Vol. 36 (entitled The Ninth Justice) begins, the Straw Hats find themselves in trouble in The City of Water, Water Seven.  They’d gone to the island in hopes of getting the Galley-La, the famed shipwrights of Water Seven, to fix the Merry Go.  They were told that the ship was beyond repair, so Luffy decided to get a new ship, which caused a riff between him and shipmate, Usopp.  Now, the mayor of The City of Water, Iceberg, has been shot, and the Straw Hats have been blamed.  It doesn’t help that the newest Straw Hat, Nico Robin, is involved in the assassination plot.  Is this true, and how is she connected to the mysterious CP9?

THE LOWDOWN:  High adventure, action comedy, and supernaturally imaginative storytelling are what One Piece usually offers.  The 36th volume of One Piece switches to riveting suspense.  It’s a thriller that is on par with The Bourne Ultimatum – if that film were an action comedy.  And there is a hook ending that will drag you back for the next volume.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for imaginative adventure yarn-spinning will find it in One Piece.

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