http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/20... ( )

Interesting series ( )

Rani Trader's family bought her an apprenticeship in the Glasswrights Guild, thus moving her up a caste. She attempts to warn the crown prince of an attack by one of her instructors, unfortunately her warning distracts him and he dies. In response, the king orders the entire guild destroyed and Rani captured. Throughout the book she manages to stay hidden, called by different names and assumed to be of different castes, but the brotherhood behind the death of the prince and the plot to overthrow the caste system is closer than she thinks.
I didn't hate this, but then again I didn't love it either. The caste system was interesting, Rani was likable as she was thrown into and reacted to events beyond her control. I'll be interested to read the next books if they come my way but then again if they don't I won't be terribly upset. Note : very little on glassmaking in this one!

Considered Fantasy, but more alternate reality to my eyes, it's the story of Rani Trader. She's 13 and an apprentice to the Glasswright's Guild in a society built on the Caste System. She ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time and this begins her whirlwind adventure through this societally constrained world.

The book was fairly well written, and Klasky uses a few unique descriptive phrases and passages. The story is told solely around Rani, there are no cuts to other characters and the behind the scenes machinations. We learn what's going on just as Rani does. It's a very linear story in that regard.

The biggest gripe I had was that everyone around her seemed to know more about what was going on than she did. Since she was supposed to be the heroine of the story, this rang a bit false to me, until I got to the end of the book and realized she was but a buffeted puppet of both sides of the struggle in this story. She did appear at times to be spending more of her time reacting than acting. Then again, she is only 13.

Klasky won accolades for this, her first published novel, and deservedly so. She introduces a fun character in Rani Trader, who has a lot of spunk and spirit, and the less than brilliant decision making of a 13 year old. In short, she rings true as a person. While the writing isn't deft, or brilliant, it is workmanlike and effective at telling the story. And Klasky has a good story to tell. I can overlook the writing lapses (few as they are) for a good story.

If you like fantasy/alternate reality type stories, this would be worth the time. Not the best book I've ever read, but far, far from the worst. ( )

http://roseread.net/wordpress/?p=280 ( )