Dish envy

Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce

Evvy is a stone mage, her magic works through rocks of all descriptions and her closest friend is Luvo, the living heart of a mountain.  After a dispute with some boys who live at the Winding Circle Temple where she is apprenticed, her mentor Rosethorn, a plant mage herself, decides to take Evvy with her to the Battle Islands to give tempers time to cool.  Plants have been dying unexpectedly and water turning suddenly acidic, so Rosethorn has been dispatched to investigate the root of the problem.  But when Evvy finds a variety of igneous rocks lying all over the mountain at the centre of the island, they realise that the source of the trouble could be far more destructive than anyone could have imagined – and may cost Evvy her life.

This is a new book in the world of the Winding Circle, featuring the student Briar acquired in Street Magic.  Evumeimei Dingzai – Evvy – was found polishing stones on the streets of Chammur, after being sold into slavery by her parents.  Briar, also a plant mage and former street rat, was able to see both her magic and her potential.  If you want to know the rest of the story, I’d suggest picking up the book and reading it yourself!  It’s well worth it – Tamora Pierce books are the literary equivalent of a nice warm blanket to wrap myself in anytime I’m not feeling well or like dealing with the world around me.  But start with the first of the books set in Emelan – Sandry’s Book. I love reading anything by Tamora Pierce, she writes in such an accessible way.  It’s pitched perfectly at young teenage girls without patronising at all, which means I can reread books I first read at the age of 12 and get similar levels of enjoyment now.  Of course, she’s written a fair number of new books since then and I’ve read most of them (I think), finding them all to be as enjoyable as Wild Magic (that being my introduction to Ms Pierce).  Generally, the stories revolve around a young girl who is dealing with the responsibility forced upon her – either through discovering that she has magic, or training to be a soldier – and negotiating the prejudices or difficulties faced as a result.  That summary may make the books sound trite and silly, but they are all genuine, heartfelt, touching and sweet.  The protagonists have faults – Evvy prefers cats and stones to people, frequently regretting words spoken in anger – but they also have compassion.

Melting Stones isn’t quite as awesome as the other books in this universe, possibly because I miss the relationship between the four foster siblings that star in the previous 9 books, possibly because Evvy is slightly less likable than Pierce’s other creations.  But nonetheless, I always enjoy settling down with one of her stories and I liked this book more than a lot of other things I’ve read recently.  The Book of Unholy Mischief, I’m looking at you… (I’m currently struggling though it, the review will follow in a couple of weeks probably.  I bet you’re on tenterhooks waiting for that one).

PS. The title of this review is nothing at all to do with the book, I was just stuck for inspiration and went for something that made me giggle on Urban Dictionary.  It was that, or “Keep fucking that chicken“.

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