I
listened to all four audiobooks in this series in rapid succession
right before signing up for CBR4, so I will treat them as one review
since I can't really separate them completely in my memory now.
The
Circle of Magic series begins with Sandry's Book, with
the individual stories of four lonely, outsider children. Each is
from a very different background (noble, merchant, trader and thief)
and has either been abandoned or orphaned in some way. Each is found
by a kind man, and taken to a private school of sorts. There each
finds their way to a teacher and mentor who turns out to be a mage in
a special kind of magic - a different kind than is well-known in this
world. Given the title of the series and hints along the way, it is
no surprise to anyone except the children's characters that each
posses their own rare kind of magic (weaving, weather, metal and
plant).
As
you can tell by the book titles, each of the four books, is from the
point of view of one of the children (3 girls and 1 boy), but all
four are still main characters in each book. The first book,
Sandry's Book is rather slow
to get started as it introduces all the characters and locations and
really is more about setting up the rest of the series. The four
children are getting to know each other and figuring out their new
lives. There is finally some real action with the group of four at
the end which ends up binding them in a way that is important for the
rest of the series. Together they form a completely unique magic
which keeps changing and surprising them in the later books.
Surprisingly,
since I read a lot of young adult fantasy, this was the first Tamora
Pierce book I've read! I was a good, average, juvenile-young adult
fantasy book that interested me enough to continue to the next in the
series, Tris's Book.
Tris's
Book begins soon after Sandry's
Book ends. The children are now
bonded both my magic and by growing friendship. They are learning
more about their abilities and how to control their magic, but still
have a long way to go. However, there is a pirate attack on the way,
before they are prepared. These are not the “nice” pirates of
some stories, but the ruthless kind.
For
me, Tris's Book was
the weak one in the series. I found it predictable and emotionally
flat. It also depended more than I liked on the cliche of children
not listening to what they are told to do and getting into trouble
when they should have known better. However, by then I was invested
enough in the characters to want to continue to the third book, and
I'm glad that I did.
Daja's
Book, is the third in the
series. By now the children are very good friends and are taking
their magic for granted at times, while they still have things to
learn and discover about it. Daja is from the most unique culture,
with a different sense of honour and duty that we come to better
understand through this book. An accident with her metal magic
produces something that interested my artistic sense and I enjoyed
that unexpected aspect of her blacksmithing talent.
In
Daja's Book, the
children also learn more about the serious consequences and
responsibilities of magic, for themselves and for other mages as they
travel with their teachers. Through this they start to show more
maturity. Fire and drought provide the scene for more physical
adventures that are more compelling than the previous book, so I
happily proceeded to the fourth book.
Book
four is, Briar's Book -
Briar being the only boy in the group of four. Despite being the
boy, he is one of the more sensitive of the group, but hides it well
in a non-wimpy way. As a gardener myself, I enjoyed his work with
plants throughout the series. This books gives us a much more
emotional view into Briar's past and current life.
The
children have now learned and matured enough to be doing some work on
their own, but are still connected through their magical bond and
friendships. In contrast to the physical adventures of the previous
book, Briar's Book,
deals more with the internal fears of illness, separation and death
within their current lives which also brings up past trauma for those
who had lost friends and family before.
I
enjoyed this book the most out of the series because of this
emotional component and maturity. However, it wouldn't have near as
much impact as a stand-alone book and I would still recommend reading
the series in order to watch the characters grow and develop.
Overall,
I enjoyed the series and the characters. The overall message of
tolerance and respect for other cultures and non-stereotyping of
genders was not presented in the gimmicky way that has
bothered me in other books before. Anyone who has felt like an
outsider can probably relate to at least one of the children, if not
more.
I
enjoyed the quality of this series as audiobooks, read by Tamora
Pierce and a full cast of voice actors. I will definitely be looking
for more audiobooks published by Full Cast Audio, which also
specializes in family-friendly books. This series is recommended for
ages 10 and up. I look forward to reading the sequel series, Circle
of Magic: The Circle Opens and
Tamora Piece's many other books in the future.
Circle of Magic Series
Author:
Tamora Pierce
Read by:
Tamora Pierce and Full Cast
Publisher:
Full Cast Audio
Audiobook: Unabridged
Circle
of Magic Series, Book 1
Duration:
5 hours, 49 minutes
ISBN: 9781932076691
Release
date: Nov 02, 2002
Circle
of Magic Series, Book 2
Duration: 5
hours, 37 minutes
ISBN: 9781932076783
Release
date: Dec 31, 2003
Circle
of Magic Series, Book 3
Duration: 5
hours, 25 minutes
ISBN: 9781932076790
Release
date: Dec 31, 2003
Briar'sBook (UK title The Healing in the Vine )
Circle
of Magic Series, Book 4
Duration: 6
hours, 32 minutes
ISBN: 9781932076813
Release
date: Jun 01, 2004
Having no idea what to expect, I was very pleasantly surprised by Watermelon Summer. It is just a nice, sweet book. An easy, fun read. 
