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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Talk about judge jury and executioner... this story is pretty ridiculous and unintentionally dark humor during the plot climax. Just on the border of being unacceptable.
Other issues is the way Briar keeps talking to imaginary parts that represent his different mates. It's a poor subtitute for fun character interaction that was the hallmark of the first magic circle quartet.
The new character is interesting, but kind of like a plot convenience.
That said, I love the overarching theme of Briar coming to grips with his two identities and redefining his perspective around gang life. It's a slight rehash from Circle of Magic, but still worth exploring.
Other issues is the way Briar keeps talking to imaginary parts that represent his different mates. It's a poor subtitute for fun character interaction that was the hallmark of the first magic circle quartet.
The new character is interesting, but kind of like a plot convenience.
That said, I love the overarching theme of Briar coming to grips with his two identities and redefining his perspective around gang life. It's a slight rehash from Circle of Magic, but still worth exploring.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Evvy. Her sass with Briar and Rosethorn is everything I need in the world. And I love her devotion to her cats. And for Briar, having a book in which he must deal with a gang war worked well to build off his background, although it stylistically matched the detective theme of Sandry's book (why are so many in this series devoted to catching criminals). And I liked that how no one would stop Zenadia since she was related to the royal family, and no one really cared about the gutter-snipes anyway. It really drove home some of the classicism we see in Circle of Magic.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Briar and Rosethorn’s relationship means everything to me.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For readers who: are looking for a smart YA fantasy with likable and compassionate protagonists; enjoyed The Circle Begins series and want to see how their characters progressed.
For me, this was a nostalgic re-read of a favorite YA author from growing up.
For me, this was a nostalgic re-read of a favorite YA author from growing up.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Tamora Pierce with each title. In the acknowledgements section, she talks about starting as a writer - she read fantasy and sci-fi as a 7th grader in the 60s, and then started to rework the stories on her own, except with female protagonists. The main character of this story is male, Briar Moss the green mage, but the females around him are strong, lively, complex characters. Moss is also such a compelling character, split between his world of being a mage and his past in the urban street gangs. The plot is strong (although the twist at the end was pretty visible from a long ways away), although the one critique I would make is that 1. we never get to see Rosethorn show her stuff! and 2. Moss never really gets tested - even at the climax of the story it seemed all too easy for him. I was waiting for more of a show-down than there was.
All in all, an excellent story, and exactly the kind of book I want to keep and provide for my students' reading.
All in all, an excellent story, and exactly the kind of book I want to keep and provide for my students' reading.