Fantasy, Science Fiction, the Supernatural & Utopias Book Review

Pierce, Tamora. Trickster’s Choice. 2003. Random House: New York.

Genre:
Fantasy, Science Fiction

Themes:
Magic, Heroes, Tricksters, Family Problems

Age / Grade Appropriateness:
15/ Eighth Grade and above

Awards:
South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee
ALA Best Books for Young Adults

Censorship Issues:
War, Slavery

Plot Summary:
This novel takes place in the world of Tortall. The novel is about a fifteen year old girl named Aly. Her mom Alanna the Lioness and her father George is the head spy for the entire country. Aly longs to be a spy that works for her father, but her parents refuse to allow her to become a spy. She runs away from home for a few weeks and is captured by some pirates. She is sold into slavery in the Copper Isles. She then makes a deal with the trickster god Kyprioth. Aly is assigned to keep two sisters safe, which are half-Raka and half-Luarin. If Aly can keep the two sisters safe by autumn (through out the summer), then the trickster god will send her home and talk to her father on her behalf about her becoming a spy. Aly manages to keep the sisters safe.

Critique:
This novel fits the bill of a YA book because it is based on a fifteen year old girl. The girl (Aly) is very much like a normal teenager in a much different setting, which would keep many young adults’ attention. I thought this was a great book, but I think it gave away the ending at the beginning of the book. I could pretty much map out what was going to happen before it happened. I think it would have been better if it would have been more suspenseful.

Curriculum Uses:
This novel could be used for entertainment. This great novel is part of a sequel, so you could continue to enjoy these novels. I also thought that it could be used in a Literature or History class to use for discussions. ( )

This book is the first in the Daughter of the Lioness/Tricksters subseries, and is about Aly, who, like the title says, is the daughter of the Lioness (aka Alanna- the first of the Tortall heroines). Unlike most of the other books in the series, this one doesn't involve Tortall much and mostly takes place on a set of islands west of that country, which I found to be a fresh and interesting spin- not that I'm bored of Tortall; I just think it's cool when we get to learn about the surrounding countries.

I found Aly to be just as interesting as her predecessors and I enjoyed her relationships with the other characters. The only flaw I found in her was that she was almost too clever and lucky. (I'm trying to not go into more details than you can get from the back cover or on Amazon or something, so how can I word this...) Granted, a lot of her luck can be based on the fact that a god is helping her out; although that's dubious in itself since it's a trickster god involved. The other main thing that made her so clever and lucky was her vast knowledge of spywork. I know that she was raised to have those skills, but it just seemed like she always knew what to do in any situation. Somewhere along the lines a teenager is bound to mess up, right? Still, though, that flaw wasn't a problem because it didn't really detract from her character; she's still witty, intelligent, and strong. It just kind of made me go "hmm..." after I finished the book and I realized how lucky and skilled she was the whole time.

The other characters in the book are well-rounded and interesting, too. I'll admit that I now have a crush on Nawat, one of the main characters; he's adorably innocent, although there's a reason for that, but I don't want to give it away. Suffice it to say that he's not really *human* per se. He brings a lot of humor into the story (although all this talk about eating bugs was kind of gross, now that I think about it) and is a good counterpart to Aly, and keeps her from being too serious about things. The other character I really liked was Dove, one of the girls in the family where Aly ends up. I have no idea how she is in the next book, but as of now, I'd love to see a series with Dove as the main character. Even as a 12 year old, she's just so smart and level-headed, and just seems like a good candidate for a series heroine.

As for the plot, I enjoyed the change to a different location we didn't previously know much about, and I loved the bits of humor throughout; without that humor, the book wouldn't have been nearly as good because it's a pretty dire situation that Aly is dropped into. I loved all the spying and sneaking stuff Aly is able to do (even if she is really good at it), and I thought the storyline was deep enough to hold your attention, but not so bogged down in politics and race issues that it became boring. I also enjoyed the cameos of previous characters (Kel! Daine! Numair! Hi, guys!).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I'm not sure if it's my favorite in the series (I think I prefer Daine or Kel to Aly), but it's definitely a good continuation to the super good Tortall series. I certainly wasn't disappointed by this book; I think it's just about as good as the rest. :) I'll give this 4 1/2 stars out of 5. ( )

Tamora Pierce returns to the world of Tortall, in this story about Aly - the teenage daughter of Alanna the Lioness and George Cooper. At the beginning of the novel, Aly is a bored young noblewoman, desperate to take her father's path as a spy but not being allowed to. Her relationship with her mother is fraught, since neither stubborn woman will back down on their ideas about Aly's future. After yet another argument, Aly decides to spend the summer visiting relatives rather than endure her mother's wrath, but ends up being taken by slavers en route. She is shipped to the Copper Isles and purchased by the Balitang family.

While there, Aly is visited by a minor God - Kyprioth, who used to be all-powerful to the raka people of the islands. He offers a wager - if Aly keeps the two eldest daughters of the Balitangs family alive til autumn, Kyprioth will return her to her family and speak to George Cooper on her behalf about becoming a spy.

From there, Aly is plunged into a life fraught with dangers, where the mad royal luarin family have reason to see the Balitangs first driven into exile and then attempt murder. Aly comes to see that Sarai, eldest daughter of the Balitangs, has both luarin and raka royal blood and therefore is destined to bring the people of the Copper Isles together.

Surrounded by interesting characters - such as Nawat Crow - Aly is determined to win her wager...

As is her wont, Pierce has once again given us a sassy and fiercely independent young woman, who is prepared to die out of loyalty to friends and who sees men as no more than a pleasant diversion in the pursuit of duty. Aly manages to overcome her title of slave and becomes integral to the lives of the Balitangs, through straight talking and unquenchable spirit.

My one complaint about Aly - who otherwise is a genuinely likeable young heroine - is that she is almost too clever and resourceful. We are given to understand that she has received training and advice from such illustrious personages as George, Alanna, Daine and Thayet (all characters from Pierce's previous novels about Tortall), but Aly still seems to know the answer to everything.

The book is filled with warm and interesting characters. Pierce is able to give us people and animals that we can take easily to our hearts. By the page-turning climax of the book, we care deeply for the people who have crowded the novel with their lively characters, realistic dialogue and genuine motivations.

Enjoyably, Pierce also writes strongly about divisions between the people of a land because of the colour of skin. She explains sensibly (in the words of Aly) that no one should be prejudiced against because they are the wrong colour. It is excellent that such a widely-regarded author is using her work to encourage racial equality and acceptance of the healthy differences between different people. The raka (black) and luarin (white) have both been responsible for atrocities in the past, and now must learn to live together and become simply the people of the Copper Isles.

I very much enjoyed the little details that Pierce embued this novel with to show a different culture to that of Tortall (which is very much based on feudal Europe). The Copper Isles are shown to be rich with exotic wildlife and landscapes, and the fiery food is very different from that Aly is accustomed to eating.

Happily, it is not essential to have read Pierce's other Tortall novels in order to enjoy this one, so new readers to the world can dive right in - however, it is extremely likely that, after enjoying this book, they will rush out and buy the rest. Readers accustomed to Tortall will both enjoy hearing about characters from previous books and be pleased to see this new plucky heroine take her place amongst them. ( )

Alianne just can't seem to decide what to do with her life, and the one thing she knows she would enjoy, spying for Tortall just like her father the spymaster, she is forbidden by her parents. In an attempt to escape a difficult few weeks with her mother, Aly sets out down the coast alone and is enslaved by pirates to sell in the Copper Isles. But like her famous parents, Aly attracts attention not just from the mortals around her but also from a god, and when the gods become tangled in your affairs, life is rarely boring or easy. Aly is quickly drawn in to the center of a centuries-old battle for control between the native Raka people of the Islands and their Luarin rulers. It will take all of Ally's spy skills to protect her royal blooded charges who could be the prophesied future rulers of the Raka.

I am not as drawn to Aly's character as I am to Kel and Alanna, and I thought I wouldn't enjoy her books, but just because she does not lend me personal inspiration does not mean she is not clever, funny, and charming. The story is a good one, and I've had a hard time putting it down. This book ends before the story does, so I'm now finishing the tale with this book's sequel which seems to be just as entertaining. ( )

I confess, I am an inveterate Tamora Pierce fan. Her fun stories and intelligent, hard-working, likeable heroines make anything she produces a good read, and this is no exception. Moving away from the noble court of Tortall, Aly, who is the daughter of the nation's spymaster, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the nearby Copper Isles. When she makes a deal with a trickster god, she must use all of the skills she learned from her father to protect the family she serves. Pierce addresses race relations and the consequences of imperialism, as well as the realities of necessary war. Contains all the necessary ingredients for a good read. ( )