YA Friday: Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce

Title: Trickster's Queen

Author: Tamora Pierce

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2004

Source: Library (Audiobook)

Aly has chosen to stay in the Copper Isles after he wager with Kyprioth has ended. Determined to help the Raka regain their rights to rule the Isles, she has established an extensive spy network. The Isles are ready for rebellion. However, Aly must make some difficult choices - who has to be sacrificed for the greater good? And does Nawat have a more permanent place in her life?

I was extremely impressed with the book preceding this one, Trickster's Choice. In fact, I even went to far as to say it was my favorite book by Tamora Pierce, an impressive feat considering the fact that Tamora Pierce was the only author I even read in the sixth grade. While Trickster's Queen was entertaining, it wasn't as strong as the first book in the series.

I think the main reason I grew impatient with Trickster's Queen was the lengthy amount of time spent in spy meetings, planning out strategies and attack plans. When Aly was on her own, these were interesting. We were hearing about them for the first time. However, when they were magnified to a whole group, it was sometimes difficult to keep track of everything and grew tedious because it was repeated over and over. The first half of the book did not have much action - simply Aly directing her spies.

Things get a bit more interesting in the second half of the book as events are set in motion. Sarai becomes romantically entangled, Dove begins to show her strengths, Aly and Nawat have a lover's roadbump, and some ethical decisions arise - in particular, when the rebellion comes to head, what will happen to the boy king, Dunevon, and the next in line to the throne, Sarai and Dove's half-brother Elsren?

The overall tone of the book was still very entertaining. I love the world Pierce has created with the Copper Isles - the unique traditions and locations. I enjoy the complex hierarchy of gods and goddesses and the interplay between them. We are even introduced to a few new deities and Aly has the opportunity to get a bit closer to them than she would like. The characters are vibrant and unique. While this book did not live up to its predecessor, it was still entertaining and a good finish to Aly's saga as spymaster of the Copper Isles.

3.5 stars

Warnings: violence, "up-to-the-closed-door" sexuality

YA Friday: Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce

Title: Trickster's Choice
Author: Tamora Pierce
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2003
Source: Audiobook from the library

It's no secret that I love Tamora Pierce - just look at my reviews page and see how many I have listed under her name. She was my favorite author in middle school, and I have really enjoyed rediscovering her books as an adult. I was thrilled to discover this book that I had never read about Alanna's daughter, Aly. (Incidentally, it was published the year after I started high school... too late for my middle school days!)

Aly is tired of her mother and father's prodding to "do something" with her life. All the options that are acceptable to George and Alanna Cooper seem boring to Aly. After a confrontation with her mother, Aly decides to go on a little sailing trip to escape home. However, she is kidnapped and sent to The Copper Isles to be sold as a slave. As she grows accustomed to life as a slave for the Balitangs, she catches the attention of Kyprioth, the Trickster god and patron god of the raka, the native peoples of the Copper Isles. Kyprioth makes a wager with Aly that, if fulfilled, will permit her to return home. However, this wager changes her life in ways she wasn't expecting.

I've already mentioned that I love Tamora Pierce, but this story delighted me more than any of her other books. The main reason for this is the characters. Aly is a fantastic, intriguing character. At the beginning of the book, I found myself relating to her inability to decide what she wants to do with her life and her family's disapproval of the one pathway she would enjoy, that of a spy for her father's extensive intelligence network. As someone who changed her major six times and her post-grad plans twice, I understand the struggle to decide on a life path. As the daughter of two very opinionated (and intelligent!) people, I also understand the frustration of facing disapproval or a lack of understanding of why you want that particular life path. Aly is very different from her mother, who dressed up as a boy at the age of twelve to become a knight and has always been driven and successful. I could relate to her as an adult - I'm sure teens could relate even more so. She's a little irresponsible, a little confused, enjoying the shock her father gets when he sees that she's dyed her hair blue. However, she isn't the jerk of an irresponsible teen that is often stereotyped in books. She has an attitude, but she is smart and hilarious. In short, she is the type of person I like to have as a friend.

In synchrony with her is the disgraced Trickster, Kyprioth - a sly, vain god of a people who have been displaced by invaders. Aly and Kyprioth's friendship develops along fascinating lines. Pierce has written other human-god relationships - Alanna is visited by her patron goddess, the Great Mother, multiple times in the Song of the Lioness novels - but for her and other Pierce characters, the experience is terrifying, humbling, what you would expect from meeting a god. Aly and Kyprioth's relationship is teasing, sarcastic, and at times frustrating to both of them.

Other interesting characters also fill the story. Dove and Sarai, the oldest Balitang children, are passionate, intelligent girls who befriend Aly even though she is their slave. Nawat, a crow who turns into a man (I know it sounds stupid - I was skeptical at first, but he really is a great character) is also fascinating as he tries to get accustomed to human nature and intrigue. There are no flat characters in this novel - they all have a life of their own and stand out vividly against the brightly colored backdrop of the Copper Isles.

The plot itself is also fascinating. Because Aly has spent her life surrounded by her father's spy network, she knows how to get information. The knowledge she acquires and the way she gets it are very interesting. We often get a view into Aly's thought process as she works out how to manipulate information from various players in the story. There is also an element of mystery involved, from deciphering why Kyprioth makes his wager with Aly in the first place to trying to find routes for her to win the wager.

I listened to this book on tape, and the performance was fantastic.Trini Alvarado (who plays Meg in Little Women), who has also read the other two Pierce books I have listened to, reads the book. While it is just one voice, she lends different inflections and personalities to all the characters without making them ridiculous or cheesy. She reads at a good pace as well. The only complaint I have with this book is the beginning, when the history of the conflict between the luarin and raka is described. Many dates and individuals were listed, and because I was listening, it was hard for me to keep them straight in my mind. However, the actual storyline of the book was easy to follow and delightful.

If you are a fan of Tamora Pierce or other young adult fantasy, you will definitely enjoy this book; however, I would recommend giving it a chance even if you aren't usually a fantasy fan. This is an excellent YA novel that won't disappoint.

Readability (listenability, haha) - A little confusing at first, but most of the plotline is easy to follow.
Plot: 5
Characters: 5
Writing: 4.5
Personal response: 4.5
Overall: 4.75

YA Friday: Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce

Title: Tortall and Other Lands
Author: Tamora Pierce
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Random House, 2011
Source: Provo Library

I love me some Tamora Pierce. When I was in middle school, I read all her books. Over the last year, I have begun to reread some of her books, as well as read the books she's published since I was in middle school. I still love her, even though I'm not really into fantasy novels anymore and I'm not part of the YA target audience. I was really excited to read this collection, especially because I love short stories.

Six of the eleven short stories are set in Tortall, four more are also fantasy, set in various places, including contemporary New York, and one is contemporary, non-fantasy, set in Idaho (where I grew up... yay for Idaho!).

I really enjoyed getting glimpses of lands that I was less familiar with in the Tortall novels. Tamora Pierce has created a world, with multiple countries, political systems, gods, and politicians, and her stories read like snapshots from that world instead of constructions that she is adding to it. In "Student of Ostriches" we learn more about the Shang Unicorn, a person lightly mentioned in the fourth Alanna book, Lioness Rampant. The story "Nawat" gives us some insight into the strange and mysterious Nawat, a character I am becoming acquainted with in the novel Trickster's Choice, which I am currently listening to on audiobook. "The Dragon's Tale" lets us into Kitten's mind, instead of describing events from the point of view of Daine, the main character in the Immortals quartet.

We also get something a little different with the two contemporary tales, "Huntress" and "Testing." "Huntress" takes place in contemporary New York, but is still a fantasy tale. It was the most disturbing and violent of anything I've read by Tamora Pierce, perhaps because it was in a contemporary setting and involved a world I could envision and relate to. I didn't like reading it - when I finished I felt disturbed, but at the same time I was impressed with the inventiveness and originality of the story. I'd never read anything like it. "Testing" is a story told out of an experience in Pierce's life, working as a housemother in a home for troubled teen girls. It was interesting to read something that wasn't fantasy, although it didn't have as much appeal for me as the other fantasy stories in the collection.

I think my favorite story in the collection was "Lost," the story of an abused teenage math genius afraid to assert herself and get the education she needs and pines for. Adria meets a darking, a strange little creature that I haven't experienced yet in any other Pierce book that seems to be a black blob with a quirky, helpful personality. The darking, named Lost, helps Adria have more self-confidence and convinces her to reach out to people who can help her.

This was a fun book to read, but I think it will mostly appeal to previous fans of Tamora Pierce. Part of the charm of the collection was that it gave further insights into a world I had already come to love. I think if I had been completely unfamiliar with that world, the stories may have confused me. They are individual stories - you don't have to have a knowledge of Tortall to follow the plot, but the reason they were enjoyable to me was because of the connections I already had to them. So, if you are a fan of Tamora Pierce, I think you will enjoy these stories. If not, read Alanna: The First Adventure first, and then pick this one up. :)

Overall: 3

Birth Year Challenge Wrap-Up

Hotchpot Cafe's 2010 Birth Year Challenge was the first I ever signed up for, and I am glad that I was able to finish! This was a fun challenge and gave me the opportunity to try out some books I wouldn't ordinarily pick up.

My first choice was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I didn't really love the book, but it was an interesting read, and not too long.

The second book I read was The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I loved this book so much! It is definitely a new favorite. This was Kingsolver's debut, but I think I like it even more than her later works. There is a sequel (Pigs in Heaven) and I am hoping to read it this year.

The third book I read was Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce. The Song of The Lioness was one of my favorite series in middle school, and it was fun to go through them again. I still enjoy them despite being ten years older.

All in all, this was a great challenge. I'm glad I participated, and have a few more birth year books I hope to read in the future.

Lioness Rampant

Lioness Rampant is the final book in Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet, and the main reason I reread the series. It was published in my birth year, and is the final book in the Birth Year Challenge (I know, it ended December 31. Fortunately I just needed to have read the book by then, not written the review!)

Lioness Rampant is the account of Alanna's first true knightly quest. While she has had some adventures living with the Bazhir and acting as their shaman, she is restless now to complete a "real" adventure. When she hears tales of the Dominion Jewel, a mystical object rumored to make a good ruler invincible, she knows she needs it for her friend Jonathan, the future king of Tortall (and her ex-lover with whom she is currently pretty awkward). On her journey to find the Jewel, Alanna meets Liam, a Shang warrior so deadly he doesn't need weapons to defend himself. Once Alanna returns to Tortall, she finds that much has changed while she was adventuring, and the security of the kingdom is at stake.

This book seemed like it should have been two shorter stories rather than one novel. It seems to be divided in half - in the first part, Alanna seeks the Dominion Jewel. In the second part, she helps Jonathan save his kingdom and acquires a new role as King's Champion. They were both enjoyable stories, but the part of the book that connected the stories was slow. The middle section described court intrigues and plots against the king, which were important to the story, granted, but seemed out of place with the rest of the story. I expected action, and I got seven or eight clandestine meetings.

I also felt like some of the characters could have been better developed, in particular Alex of Tirragen. I had a hard time connecting the malicious Alex in Lioness Rampant to Alanna's good friend in previous books. In the previous books, he did sometimes challenge her in ways that led to injury, and he was the squire of Alanna's arch-nemesis, Duke Roger. However, in the previous books, he seems to still really like her, despite his competitiveness. In this book, he is completely against her. I was left wondering why and when the complete transition took place.

I did really enjoy the further development of Alanna's character, especially in her relationship with others. She becomes romantically involved with Liam, despite continuing feelings for George Cooper, her best friend and the king of thieves, who is currently defending his title against the mysterious and nasty Claw (see what I mean about too many intrigues? Hard to keep them all straight!) Alanna learns through this new relationship that attraction and passion do not necessarily lead to a good partnership - lovers need to accept everything about each other to truly love each other.

Alanna also continues to develop more friendships with women, a species basically unknown to her until she revealed herself after becoming a knight. While she spent time with women in the Bazhir tribes, in Lioness Rampant she has her first opportunities to befriend women more similar to her - Thayet, a princess and exile from her homeland, and Buri, a trained K'miri warrior.

Lioness Rampant had many twists and surprises in who was actually plotting against the king, as well as the unexpected return of several of her enemies. The book was definitely a fun read, but I think it was my least favorite of Song of the Lioness. Still, rereading this series has shown me that I didn't just enjoy the books because they were exciting when I was in middle school - these really are great stories. I'm glad I got the opportunity to read this as my final Birth Year Challenge choice!

Accessibility/readability - Easy to read.
Literary merit/Aesthetics - 3
Plot- 3
Characters - 3
Personal response: 3
Overall: 3

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce, continues the tale of Alanna. Although now she is officially a knight, the revelation to the rest of the kingdom that she is also a woman has lead to some awkwardness at court, so she decides to spend the first years of her knighthood adventuring in the desert. She falls in with the Bazhir, a desert tribe, where she explores her roles as a leader, a Gifted magic user, and a woman.

I listened to this book on audio (like the second book in the series, In the Hand of the Goddess) and enjoyed it completely. I loved the different accents, especially those of Alanna's little desert apprentices. I remembered virtually nothing of this book from the first time I read it, ten years ago, so I was constantly looking for opportunities to turn it on in the car.

This novel had more complexity than the previous two. Alanna grows in maturity as she deals with the "real world." She no longer has the rules and structure of the palace to guide her decisions. She is now autonomous and has to deal with making difficult choices. She has to decide if she will fulfill the responsibilities her new tribe, the Bloody Hawk, expect of her. She has to decide who she will love and the type of life she hopes to lead, especially when faced with bumps in a previously picture perfect relationship. She also has to face her fear of her magic when she finds herself unexpectedly in the role of the tribe shaman.

I continued to love the characters more and more. The narrative was action packed, with constant challenges to Alanna due to her status as a northern knight and her womanhood. However, the characters do not take second place to the plot. They are fully fleshed out with their own idiosyncrasies and personal challenges. With every book, I find myself liking Alanna more and more. Her larger-than-life status as the first woman knight in over a hundred years and her professed skill at everything could make Alanna unbelievable and "too perfect" - however, her prickly temper, insecurities, and blunders make her seem human and someone that I could relate to.

I think this is my favorite Alanna book. When I was younger, I always liked the first book best because I thought the adventures were the most interesting. This was when Alanna was first learning to disguise herself as a boy and working to keep up with the boys. However, in this book Alanna really explores who she is. She has to learn to accept parts of herself she has always been uncomfortable with and choices she regrets. So, basically, I loved it.

Readability/Accessibility: Very easy to follow on the audiobook

Aesthetics/literary merit: 3.5. Definitely not a classic, but well written.

Plot: 4.

Characters: 4.5

Personal Response: 4

Overall: 4

In the Hand of the Goddess

This review is going to be a speedy one - busy time of year. But I want to keep up so I don't forget the details of the lovely books I have read.

In the Hand of the Goddess is the 2nd book in the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce (my review of the first book is here). Because this was a book I had already read, I decided to revisit it in the form of book-on-CD. Audio books tend to drive me crazy - my mind wanders, or I want to revisit a passage and can't. However, listening to this one on CD was delightful. I couldn't remember many details of the story, and Alanna's adventures had me excited for my weekly hour drive.

This story picks up where Alanna: The First Adventure leaves off. Alanna is now a squire to Prince Jonathan, her best friend. Because she is so small, she is constantly challenged to prove herself. When war breaks out with a neighboring kingdom, Alanna goes with her knight to battle. However, the war appears to be more than a border skirmish - sorcery and intrigue is involved, with almost certain betrayal within the kingdom. Add to this Alanna's fear of her upcoming Ordeal of Knighthood (which not everyone survives), her fear of love and her growing desires to dress and behave like a woman, and she has enough on her plate.

This book has more action than the first novel, with all of Alanna's conflicts and fears being confronted. The characters' personalities are very well-developed, even though adventures and plot are the main focus of this novel. We also get a little romance in this novel, as Alanna is pursued by not one but two admirers (who know that she is a woman). She has to face the conflict of her desire to be independent like a man and her own feelings of love.

I didn't like that Alanna's cat could talk. Talking animals seem kind of hokey to me, unless it's Redwall when all the animals could talk. I also didn't like that everyone was completely blind to the villain of this novel. At the end, the reason for this blindness is explained, but it still drove me a little crazy.

All in all, however, I had even more fun with this book than the last one. I don't usually read YA or fantasy, and it is nice to have a little break from the heavy stuff while I focus on school. If you need a good adventure or some lighter reading, give this adventure a try.

Accessibility/readability - Very.
Aesthetics/literary merit - 3. It's definitely a "just for fun" book. But it isn't written poorly by any means.
Plot - 4.5
Characters - 4.5
Personal response: 4
Overall: 4

Alanna: The First Adventure

Tamora Pierce was my main reading fare for sixth grade. Every day, my friends and I would meet in the library before class and during our ten minute break, on the back wall over by the P authors. I don't remember if we found Tamora Pierce by accident or not. I know my friend Jess was the first one to pick up Alanna and then we all followed, vying for the next book in the series and others by Pierce as we got through all of them.

I decided to reread this little gem because I am rereading the final book in the series as part of the Birth Year Challenge hosted by Hotchpot Cafe. I've already enjoyed a few revisits to Alanna over the years (just the first novel) and I was excited to do it again.

The premise: Alanna and her twin brother are about to be sent away by their noble, absent-minded father - Alanna to a convent, to learn how to be a lady, and Thom to learn how to be a knight. Alanna has always been a tomboy and wishes she could be a knight. Thom wants to learn more about the powers he and Alanna possess in order to become a sorcerer (and conveniently, the place to learn about these powers is the convent). They decide to switch, and the book follows Alanna through the "page" phase of learning to become a knight.

I've heard that you shouldn't go back to the books you loved in earlier days, because the magic will be gone. However, I don't think this was the case with Alanna. Her adventures are still interesting to me and as I couldn't remember exactly how everything turned out, still exciting as well. This book has a little of everything - fighting, politics, friendship, magic, and of course, a taste of the awkwardness and change of puberty, compounded with the fact that Alanna is hiding the fact that she is female. On this revisit, I really enjoyed the magic aspect of the novel. I have been needing a little more magic in my life. :)

Another thing I really appreciated was that while Alanna does have a lot of help (becomes friends with strong, respected pages, has a contact in the city she can trust, has magical powers) she also works really, really hard to excel at becoming a knight. She has to - she is short, inexperienced and a girl (and no matter how capable girls are, they still have proportionally smaller lungs, hearts, and muscles). Alanna is a character we can respect, which I think is important in YA fiction, and also a character we can like, which is important in all fiction.

I give this book 4 out of 5, keeping in mind that it is a YA novel. It is primarily a plot-driven story and there isn't a ton of complexity, but it is a good, light, entertaining read.

Library Party!

Three days ago, I received an email from the library informing me the book I had put on hold three weeks ago was ready for me. I ran into my sister on my way off campus and made her come with me on my library adventure, telling her I only wanted to pick up the one book. Well, I only have three, and a movie (for Friday night when my husband will be in the testing center solving the mysteries of organic chemistry). Disregarding the fact that I have five tests in the next 9 days. And the fact that I haven't finished all the books from my last library run. My husband took one look at my nightstand, shook his head and told me I was crazy. Oh well, at least I'm happy in my insanity.

Here's the damage for this week...

Reading Challenge

Well, I'm slowly making my way into the world of "book bloggers" and therefore have decided to participate in my first ever reading challenge. The challenge is to read books from your birth year. My choices are ...

Satanic Verse by Salman Rushdie. I have been wanting to read this one for awhile and was therefore happy to see that it was written in 1988!

The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. My husband read this recently so I will have someone to talk it over with. :)

Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce. OK, confession on this one. I read it in middle school. But the ironic thing is, I have been thinking about that series lately and wanting to reread it. My friends all read the Alanna books together and obsessed over them - I remember learning "A Time For Us" on the piano and thinking it fit Alanna and Jonathan's lives so perfectly. Anyway, so I have an emotional attachment to this book. Must be because it was written in the year I was born.

Anyway, if I can get through one of these each month, I should be able to defeat the reading challenge by December. I'm excited because I win a book if I meet my goals. According to Hotchpot Cafe, who is hosting this challenge, it will be "a gently used trade paperback." But a free book is a free book, when you can't afford to buy anything because you are busy saving all your money for nursing books and dental school interviews.