Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com
TERRIER is the latest from a brilliant author whose earlier works you've got to read if you haven't already! My expectations for this book, as it is by Tamora Pierce, were, of course, quite high, and I was not disappointed. This might be my new favorite of hers (though it still might be beat out by the SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet--it's close), which is certainly saying a lot.
It's the story of Beka Cooper, a Lower City girl and member of the Provost's Guard who lives centuries before Alanna the Lioness and those characters of her world known to fans of Tamora Pierce's other work. Beka lives in the dark time spoken of in one of the Alanna books when every sword, whether held by a man or a woman, was needed. Indeed, Alanna was not the first Lady Knight; hundreds of years before, women could earn their shields without having to hide who they were. In fact, one of the many fascinating characters known to Beka is a Lady Knight named Sabine. She reminded me of Alanna. Mattes, one of the guardsmen whose job it is to train Beka in their ways, reminds me of one of Alanna's friends, Raoul. Rosto is quite like George Cooper (whose ancestor Beka is!), as well. And fans of the SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet will also recognize Beka's cat, Pounce!
When Beka trains to be a Puppy in the Guard, she knows someday she'll be a Dog, and she wants to be a good one. She's quite excited to be assigned to one of the best pairs in the Lower City; indeed, in all of Corus! She knows it'll be hard work, that Mattes and Clary will work her hard, but she's ready for it. This is what she wants to do. She's aided by her friends, her cat, and her magical Gifts of listening to the winds and to the pigeons who carry the souls of the dead.
Soon after she starts her work, Beka learns of some dangerous goings-on in the Lower City, and it's up to her to stop it, as only a true Lower City girl could--one with Beka's listening talents, at that. She knows the people, she knows their ways, and she is uniquely fit for figuring out what's going on in her neighborhood, and that is what she will do.
The format of TERRIER is different from that of Pierce's other books. It's told as Beka's journal, for one thing, meaning it's in first person. All of her other novels are in third person! It's certainly a change, but she does quite well with it. The only problem is the length of some of these journal entries! Beka is tired from her work as a Puppy; she's not going to write twenty, thirty pages in her journal at night! She probably won't even remember enough to write such long entries! That is the only flaw I found in this book, and that's easy to overlook. This is a page-turner, a wonderfully written story, with amazing characters. Whether you're a fan of Tamora Pierce, of fantasy, or of books in general, read this book!
TERRIER is the latest from a brilliant author whose earlier works you've got to read if you haven't already! My expectations for this book, as it is by Tamora Pierce, were, of course, quite high, and I was not disappointed. This might be my new favorite of hers (though it still might be beat out by the SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet--it's close), which is certainly saying a lot.
It's the story of Beka Cooper, a Lower City girl and member of the Provost's Guard who lives centuries before Alanna the Lioness and those characters of her world known to fans of Tamora Pierce's other work. Beka lives in the dark time spoken of in one of the Alanna books when every sword, whether held by a man or a woman, was needed. Indeed, Alanna was not the first Lady Knight; hundreds of years before, women could earn their shields without having to hide who they were. In fact, one of the many fascinating characters known to Beka is a Lady Knight named Sabine. She reminded me of Alanna. Mattes, one of the guardsmen whose job it is to train Beka in their ways, reminds me of one of Alanna's friends, Raoul. Rosto is quite like George Cooper (whose ancestor Beka is!), as well. And fans of the SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet will also recognize Beka's cat, Pounce!
When Beka trains to be a Puppy in the Guard, she knows someday she'll be a Dog, and she wants to be a good one. She's quite excited to be assigned to one of the best pairs in the Lower City; indeed, in all of Corus! She knows it'll be hard work, that Mattes and Clary will work her hard, but she's ready for it. This is what she wants to do. She's aided by her friends, her cat, and her magical Gifts of listening to the winds and to the pigeons who carry the souls of the dead.
Soon after she starts her work, Beka learns of some dangerous goings-on in the Lower City, and it's up to her to stop it, as only a true Lower City girl could--one with Beka's listening talents, at that. She knows the people, she knows their ways, and she is uniquely fit for figuring out what's going on in her neighborhood, and that is what she will do.
The format of TERRIER is different from that of Pierce's other books. It's told as Beka's journal, for one thing, meaning it's in first person. All of her other novels are in third person! It's certainly a change, but she does quite well with it. The only problem is the length of some of these journal entries! Beka is tired from her work as a Puppy; she's not going to write twenty, thirty pages in her journal at night! She probably won't even remember enough to write such long entries! That is the only flaw I found in this book, and that's easy to overlook. This is a page-turner, a wonderfully written story, with amazing characters. Whether you're a fan of Tamora Pierce, of fantasy, or of books in general, read this book!
This is the first book in The Legend of Beka Cooper series. Many, many years ago I read a number of Pierce's books...I remember especially loving the Alanna series. This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. I read the first 300 pages and then ended up putting it down.
Beka is starting her career as a Provost's Guard, policing the Lower City. This book is basically a diary of her day to day life as she starts her guard duties.
There are a couple of things I was really struggling with in this book. The writing style seems very simple and childish and Beka sounds like she's maybe a preteen, or even younger, despite the fact she's supposed to be in her upper teens. I kept having to remind myself that Beka was a lot older than she sounded and acted. She was also one of those heroines who is supposed to be really street savvy but comes across as strangely naive.
The other thing I struggled with was the plot. There just wasn't a good plot here to hook me and keep my interest. The way Beka sees things, coupled with the somewhat stark and childish way she describes them, makes it hard to figure out what is going on. I kept getting bored while reading this, falling asleep, or finding just about anything else to do to avoid sitting down to read this book. The side characters seem like they could be good, but Beka isn't very descriptive about them so they are hard to engage with as well.
The last issue is how the book is physically put together. This book uses very heavy paper with large font. It was hard to hold up and physically read. I know this sounds ridiculous but I would have to lay it on a table in from of me to read because of how heavy and thick the book/pages were.
Overall I really wanted to love this but ended up being disappointed. It's been a long, long time (probably 20 years or more) since I have read a book by Pierce. So I am not sure if her writing style has changed or if my likes have changed. However, I didn't like this nearly as much as I remember liking the Alanna series.
Beka is starting her career as a Provost's Guard, policing the Lower City. This book is basically a diary of her day to day life as she starts her guard duties.
There are a couple of things I was really struggling with in this book. The writing style seems very simple and childish and Beka sounds like she's maybe a preteen, or even younger, despite the fact she's supposed to be in her upper teens. I kept having to remind myself that Beka was a lot older than she sounded and acted. She was also one of those heroines who is supposed to be really street savvy but comes across as strangely naive.
The other thing I struggled with was the plot. There just wasn't a good plot here to hook me and keep my interest. The way Beka sees things, coupled with the somewhat stark and childish way she describes them, makes it hard to figure out what is going on. I kept getting bored while reading this, falling asleep, or finding just about anything else to do to avoid sitting down to read this book. The side characters seem like they could be good, but Beka isn't very descriptive about them so they are hard to engage with as well.
The last issue is how the book is physically put together. This book uses very heavy paper with large font. It was hard to hold up and physically read. I know this sounds ridiculous but I would have to lay it on a table in from of me to read because of how heavy and thick the book/pages were.
Overall I really wanted to love this but ended up being disappointed. It's been a long, long time (probably 20 years or more) since I have read a book by Pierce. So I am not sure if her writing style has changed or if my likes have changed. However, I didn't like this nearly as much as I remember liking the Alanna series.
