Trickster's Choice, by Tamora Pierce

Leandra says:

Trickster’s Choice is a two-part series that follows the daughter of a very well-known heroine: Alanna from the Lioness Quartet. Aly (or Alianne) wants to be a spy, but her parents have a hard time understanding that. The resulting arguments eventually drive Aly to leave home in search of her own adventure. She ends up getting caught by pirates, and sold to a noble family in a strange land. 

Meg says:

 While there, Aly makes a deal with the local god.  Aly is to keep the noble's daughters alive for one summer.  In return, the god will send Aly back home with a good word to her parents.  With the gods help, Aly takes up the challenge.  Along with the god, Aly is aided by crows, mages, and the locals of the island country.  But more than anything, Aly must rely on her own strength. 

Leandra says:

 Aly is not your typical heroine - while mature for her age, she is still very much a vulnerable teenager. She is intelligent, clever, and skilled, and constantly displays that in her dance through the precarious political webs. She is charged with protecting a noble family through hard, violent times, and needs to stay ahead two steps. 

Meg says:

 This well developed heroine is placed within the Copper Isles, which Tamara Pierce has loaded with history and depth.  There islands were the home of the raka people before the laurin invaded their home.  This history plays an integral part of the story, along with a prophecy of a twice royal queen who will free the raka people.

Leandra says:

 My favorite thing about Tamora Pierce is her ability to infuse her stories with such deep histories, political systems, and a complete geography. When reading one of her books, you truly feel as if you've gone to visit a real country. 


Megan, though there are many to choose from, who was your favorite character?

Meg says:

 Hmm..I'd have to say Nawat Crow was my favorite in this book.  Nawat enters the story as one of the crows who has made some sort of bargain with the god, Kyprioth, to keep Aly alive while in the islands.  The crows teach Aly their language, and serve as her spy network in her new home.  Nawat is particularly interested in Aly from the beginning.  About a third of the way through the novel, he changes into a human so that he may help Aly protect the girls.


 Nawat is naive of the workings of the world, which allows Aly to revaluate her world while explaining human customs to him.
 Still, Nawat is a crow at heart, and acts as such.  He eats bugs, preens others, and asks Aly if he can feed her from his crop.  I own a parrot, so I can relate to all of this.


 What about you, Leandra?  Who was your favorite?

Leandra says:

 I was most fond of Dove, or Dovasary Balitang. She is the half-raka daughter of the Duke Mequen, and the most sensible character in the series. Despite her age, Dove is wise, gentle, and very mature. She is much more caring and patient than her older sister, Sarai. Dove mingles with all classes, from the poorest of the poor, to the highest of royals. She has many talents, some of those being chess, archery, and astronomy. 
 I also loved Nawat. He was delightfully innocent and pure, while being an extremely helpful ally to Aly during the series.

Meg says:

 Dove would have to be my second favorite character in this book.  I love all of the traits you've listed, but I would argue that Dove doesn't really become a fully formed character until the second book in the series, Trickster's Queen. Many of her hobbies and personality quirks are not revealed until Trickster's Queen.

                                                                        Leandra says:

Very true. I love watching the characters develop throughout the series. 

I just want to note that this series can be read without previous knowledge of Mrs. Pierce's other novels. They are all set in the same universe, and some characters from the Lioness Quartet do make an appearance, but it does not hinder these books in any way. 

Megan, I really enjoyed how intricate the political system was written. Tamora was quite thorough with creating a realistic kingdom - I appreciate the effort and amount of research she puts into her novels.

Megan says:

As this is a teen novel, I really enjoy that historical and political richness that Tamora Pierce places in her novels.  I believe this is a good introduction to real world studies, and could encourage teens to research the events that Ms. Pierce based her novels on.  

Going back to characters, while I do enjoy Ms. Pierce's writing, these characters are definitely written for a teenage audience.  After rereading both Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen as an adult, I don't find them as involving as I did when I was younger.  Aly's problems are those of a teenage girl developing into her own person.  This book is a great read for a teen, but may not be so enjoyable for an older audience.