Author Biography
Tamora Pierce
has written numerous renowned fantasy novels, set in either the “Tortall”
universe or the “Circle” universe. In 2013
she received the Margaret A. Edwards award for her body of work.
Published By: Scholastic Inc.
Year: 1998
ISBN: 978-0-590-55408-4
Reading Level: Grades 6 and up
Reader’s Annotation:
At the Winding Circle Temple in the land of Emelan, four
wildly different students are brought together by their shared status as outcasts
with strange abilities. With wise teaching and teamwork, will they come into
their own as mages… and as friends?
Plot Summary:
In his travels, the mage Niklaren “Niko” Goldeye finds four
10-year-old orphans of different lands and social classes. Sandrilene “Sandry”
fa Toren, grand-niece of Emelan’s ruling Duke; Daja Kisubo, a Trader girl
outcast as “bad luck” by her people; Briar Moss, a street urchin jailed for
theft; and Trisana “Tris” Chandler, abandoned as a “monster” by her family. Each
has a unique affinity or power, disapproved of by those around them. Tris’s
emotions cause storms and earthquakes, Briar is strangely drawn to plants, Daja
to metalwork, and Sandry once wove light into threads.
At Winding Circle Temple in Emelan, all
four children are misfits, shunned or bullied by their peers. Therefore, Niko
has them moved to the solitary Discipline cottage, where they live under the
care of two teachers, kindly Lark and prickly yet wise Rosethorn. At first the
four struggle to get along, as each child’s culture or class is prejudiced
against those of the other three. But as time passes, they work together and
with their teachers to build a healthy new life. And they discover that their
strange affinities and powers just might be rare and valuable forms of magic.
Critical Evaluation:
Published as Sandry’s
Book in the US and The Magic in the
Weaving in the UK, this book marks the start of the Circle of Magic quartet, the first series of Tamora Pierce’s
Circle universe. Set in the Mediterranean-inspired land of Emelan, it centers
around a holy community that uses magic and that teaches young people born with
magic how to use their powers. Their world is a diverse and colorful one, but
often a harsh one too, with rampant discrimination between different
social groups and within those groups toward stigmatized individuals. But at
Winding Circle Temple, the four young protagonists find refuge in their wise
mentors, in the magical abilities they discover within themselves, and in each
other.
The (American) title places its focus
on Sandry, the most innocent of the four leads. She beautifully subverts the
cliché of the tough-talking, embroidery-hating Strong Female Character™ by
combining strength with ladylike sweetness and by learning to work magic
through sewing and weaving. Both figuratively and (in the climax) literally,
she weaves the foursome together in friendship. But this is truly an ensemble
book, as each of the four children emerges from the shadow of tragedy to find a
talent and calling that will carry them onward, as well as a new home and
surrogate family to fill the void left by those they either lost or never had
before. Their journeys both as individuals and as a group are engrossing
journeys to follow and make readers eager to see what will happen to them next.
Curriculum Ties:
*Fantasy worlds
*Diversity
*Feminism
*Racism and prejudice
Challenge Issues:
*Disturbing imagery
*Racist bullying
*Bodily function references
*Allusions to pedophilia
Why This Book?
With its engaging characters, creative systems of magic,
cultural diversity, and engrossing storyline of young outcasts weaving themselves
into a new community, this book is outstanding both on its own and as the start
of a series.
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