Tricksters Choice- Yuval Dohn

Book Review Of Trickster's Choice By Yuval Dohn Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce is an amazing book, one of my favorites actually. I really mean it; I've read this book like 5 or 6 times now. (I think I'm at 6). At this point I've lost count. But anyway, when I was assigned a book review blog, Trickster's Choice popped into my head in less than a second. I know that book like the back of my hand, making it the perfect book to write a review on. Just a fore-note about the author's style of writing. She has written 3 quartets and 1 duet that are all related to this book (the Tricksters Duet). They are the Song of The Lioness Quartet, the Immortals Quartet, Protector of The Small Quartet and the Trickster's Duet. They all take place in the land of Tortall and its neighbors, the Copper Isles, Scandra, Galla, Cathark, the Yamani Islands, Tusaine and Tyra. All of the series intertwine and the characters are all the same, just with different ones in the spotlight. In almost all of Tamora Pierce's books there are very strong female characters in the main role. I like it. If you don't, well tough. Trickster's Choice is the story of Alianne of Pirate's Swoop, called Aly, who is the daughter of Alanna and George of Pirate's Swoop. It is, in a way, Aly's growing up story. She is 16 and wants to find her role in life. Which is kind of hard considering her parents' legacy that she has to live up to. Her Mother, Alanna, is the King's Champion called the Lioness and her Father; George, is the king's spymaster. Aly knows what she wants to do; she wants to be a spy out in the field. However both of her parents won't let her because they both fear of her life, knowing how dangerous it is to be a spy and Alanna and George are protective since she is their only daughter. So to let her parents have some time alone, she decides to sail to a friend's for a while. On the way she gets caught by pirates who sell her as a slave in the Copper Isles. She is sold to the Balitang family, which includes the duke, Mequen who is a kind Lurian (white) man who married Sarugani a Raka (darker skinned native of the Copper Isles) Noblewoman from the nobility before the Lurian conquest over the Raka for his first marriage then married Winnamine (Lurian) in his second. Winnamine, the duchess, was Sarugani's best friend and is now Mequen's wife. She is a cool, levelheaded noblewoman who has a strong will. Sarai, the oldest daughter from Mequen's first marriage, is a beautiful 16 year-old who has a big destiny to fulfill. Dove, also from Mequen's first marriage, is a 12 year-old who is quiet, observant and really, really smart for her age. And last but not least 4 year-old Petranne and 3-year -old Elsren, who are Winnamine's children with Mequen. The Balitangs are a noble family out of favor and sent into exile by an unpopular insane king. Soon Aly is thrust into a complex wager with a God named Kyprioth to keep the children of the Balitang family alive until the summer's end. In the process, she is plunged into a conspiracy to bring the old reigning peoples, the Raka, back to power and out of oppression. This book is filled with rebellion, conspiracies, racism, noble life, government, people desperate for power, romance (of course) and betrayal. One of my favorite quotes form the book is from page 148. Sorry in advance, the quote is LONG. It is dialogue and description. To make it easier to read, it's in a different font in quotation marks. ""You speak to the crows," Sarai remarked in disbelief. Aly smiled and bowed, now the mysterious mage." Say rather, my lady, they speak to me." It's the truth, too, she thought, waiting for the young noblewoman to have to make up her mind. For once it would have been useful to be mother, she added ruefully. When she tells people to do things, they snap to. Of course, she isn't a slave in a hostile country. "Has this got anything to do with Papa and the duchess's talking to you every night behind closed doors?" asked Dove. Aly glanced at the younger girl, all thoughts of her mother gone. "Oh my lady, you give me far too much credit," she said, meeting Dove's stern gaze with amusement. "As if the likes of them would have a serious talk with the likes of me." Behind her humorous mask she mentally kicked herself. She had to remember that Dove was quick and perceptive!" I chose this quote, or more portion, from Trickster's Choice because it shows Dove and Sarai's true personalities. It shows more of Dove than of Sarai. Dove is extremely intelligent and observant for her age. She is very controlled and in a way scholarly. On page 197 it really shows a different side of Dove that you wouldn't see if you judged her by her appearance of a small, shy, quiet 12 year old. " Aly saw no distress on that small face, only calculation." I also chose this or more these quotes that describe Dove because she is one of my favorite characters and I can relate to her easily. A rating system for this book would be in crows. I know, crows sound kind of weird. But there is a reason. Part of Aly's wager with Kyprioth included help from the crows of the Isles, who have their own wager with him (for more info read Trickster's Choice) In fact there is one crow, called Nawat, who is so intrigued by Aly that he changes into a human to help her better. And NO it is NOT a spoiler (well it sort of is, but not really . . . not that big of a spoiler at least.) So the rating system would be out of 5 crows. This book is 6 crows out of 5. I really mean it disserves that much. I recommend this book to teenage girls who like young adult fantasy. It is easy to relate to, fun to read and you'll never lose interest. It is a good book but there are some warnings about the book. WARNING YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS BOOK IF YOU DON'T LIKE/ ARE NOT ALLOWED TO READ BOOKS WITH: ·Kissing ·Some violence ·Descriptive Fight scenes ·Dialogue Suggesting Sex ·Death If you liked Trickster's Choice I recommend Trickster's Queen. The Balitang family returns to Rajmuat, back in favor of the new monarchy as Aly and her network of spies set the Raka rebellion into motion. WARNING: Trickster's Queen is a little bit more inappropriate and has more fight scenes. WARNINGS FOR Trickster's Queen: ·Brief sex scene ·Violence ·Descriptive Fight scenes ·Death ·The gruesome reality of a monarchy fighting for power ·Some curse words and mild language (only once or twice in the book) ·Dialogue Suggesting Sex I give Trickster's Queen 8 crows out of 5. It is way more addictive and better than Trickster's Choice. Other Tamora Pierce Books TORTALL BOOKS The Song Of The Lioness Quartet Alanna: The First Adventure In The Hand Of The Goddess The Woman Who Rides Like A Man Lioness Rampant The Immortals Quartet Wild Magic Wolf Speaker Emperor Mage The Realms Of The Gods Protector Of The Small First Test Page Squire Lady knight Provost's Dog/ Beka Cooper Trilogy Terrier (Coming soon) Bloodhound (Future book) Elkhound Circle Of Magic Universe Books Circle Of Magic Sandry's Book Tris's Book Daja's Book Briar's Book The Circle Opens Magic Steps Street Magic Cold Fire Shatterglass The Will Of The Empress Melting Stones AND MORE TO COME FROM BOTH UNIVERSES!!!!!!!! ; -D For details visit this site