I've gone back to this book so many times over the years that my copy is actually starting to fall apart. This is the book that got me started with fantasy, and I still follow Tamora Pierce's blog and watch out for any new books by her over ten years later.This is one of those books that definitely changed my life, it's also one of those books I go back to when I need to read something easy, to forget the world around me for a bit. These books have gotten me through everything from trouble at sc [...]

So, I love this series. LOVE it. I like everything Pierce has written to some extent (haven't read the white tiger stuff yet), but it's always been this series (the Emelan universe) above all others. If I ever had to choose what one series to take to a desert island, with nothing else to read for the rest of my life, this would be the series. Over Harry Potter, Hunger Games, whatever.This book especially is the one I've read the most over the years (probably in part because the rest of the exten [...]

Sandry’s Book is the first book of Tamora Pierce’s I’ve read that wasn’t set in Tortall, and I enjoyed it very much. It was a compact, precise little book all about people coming together. And, you know, magic and stuff.Fair warning, though. My reading of the book probably suffered because it was my second book in the 24 Hour Readathon a couple of weeks ago. I was highly buzzed on coffee for the first half of the book, and during the second I was so hungry I thought I was going to fall o [...]

This was not my first encounter with this particular Circle of Magi book. I had originally read it when I was 14 or so, and wanted more Tamora Pierce novels (I had read The Song of the Lioness Quartet and Trickster's Choice by this point). My mom, I believe, picked up this. It still contains my sketchy signature at the top of the inside cover. I didn't like it. Not at 14, when I wanted more romance, more maturity, and didn't want to read about a bunch of kids playing around with magic and having [...]

Sandry was never my favourite of the four young mages in this series - thread magic simply never seemed that interesting to a ten-year-old surrounded constantly by craft and textiles. Metal and plants seemed far more intriuguing, perhaps because I respectively didn't have much experience of/had no skill with either. Plus, there was the whole blond wealthy noble thing: I just didn't relate to her.Well, the irony is that I now have a largely textile based practice, and am obsessed with fibres and [...]

I hadn't reread these books since 2013 or 2014, apparently, but before that I used to read them yearly. It's amazing how my reactions to things keep changing as I read the books over and over again, even though they're so deeply familiar. My reactions to Briar and his trauma symptoms are much stronger now than they used to be; I caught myself tearing up at the way he reacts to Rosethorn the first time he goes in her garden (expecting her to hit him). I used to think I was most like Sandry out of [...]

So nice. Really excited to read the trouble/adventure the kids get into in the next book.

Sandry hides from a smallpox epidemic in a cupboard--only to find that she's trapped inside. When her candle runs out, she is comforted by a glow in her embroidery.Daja survives a shipwreck by willing a supply box toward her.A petty thief, Briar is thrown in jail and tends to the moss he finds there.Tris is tormented at school, but her bullies find themselves threatened by wild winds.None of them have traditional forms of magic, but Niko Goldeneye believes they might have hidden powers. He hopes [...]

Sandry, Briar, Tris, and Daja meet one another and find out about their unique abilities in this first installment of the wonderful Emelan universe. They don't exactly get along. But when their very lives are threatened, can they learn to work together to save themselves? This is probably my fifth or sixth reread of the entire series. I cannot express my love for these books enough. Sandry is a spunky little noble with great big ideas about honor and protecting others. She wants nothing more tha [...]

Some things remain constant in life. It happens to me occasionally and my dislike for this series is one such occasion. May contain spoilers! Read at your own risk! Wait a minute, I don't think this review even has spoilers, because there is NOTHING TO SPOIL!When it comes to the Circle of Magic series, I thought I would give it another shot and read it in English this time since I was not at all impressed by how it was in Romanian. Turns out I was not impressed with the English Version either. A [...]

Tamora Pierce was one of my favorite authors growing up and still remains one of my favorites today. However this series does not seem to be for me. Tamora Pierce has had books with different POVs before but not to the extent it is here. There are four main characters with four different POVs, each changing within a couple of pages. If you've read enough reviews from me you may have noticed that constantly changing POVs are on my list of things I do not like in a book. The world seemed interesti [...]

I don't think this is good, exactly - but I love the ideas. That magic can be overlooked because it's part of something mundane is a great idea, and to take that a step further and show how magic can itself be treated like those mundane things is innovative and exciting, to the point where I actually don't mind that the entire novel is setup.

SANDRY'S BOOK isn't just a story about young thread-mage-in-training Sandrilene fa Toren. It's about her as well as her foster siblings - Daja (metals), Briar (plants), and Tris (weather) - as they come to the Winding Circle Temple to learn how to use their unique powers. All of them are outcasts in some way; and while they struggle to fit in and stay out of trouble at Winding Circle, they manage to find common ground together. But when disaster threatens their new home, the quartet must find a [...]

Sandry's Book is the first in the Circle of Magic series. It begins with Lady Sandrilene who is alone and afraid after being hidden by magic in a small storeroom by her nurse, to keep her safe from a smallpox outbreak and rioting villagers. Her nurse is killed and Sandry is left for a very long time without light and only her needlework to keep her company. She is found by Niko, a mage, who was able to locate her and save her from the dark and lonely room where she was held safe. Her parents and [...]

Read by Tamora Pierce, Bruce Coville & Full Cast Audio(click for cast names)Length: 5.8 HoursListened at 1.8x SpeedIf you have not yet listened to a Full Cast Audio recording, you haven't yet heard audiobooks as they were meant to be. Each character has his or her own voice actor, reading the lines of dialogue or thoughts as if they were in the story itself. Tamora Pierce has been most supportive of the FCA style of work, reading as narrator for not only her own books, but in other casts as [...]

Tamora Pierce has captured me again! Oh my goodness, this was a lovely introduction to the world of Emelan. As much as I do and will miss Tortall and the characters that populate it, I am so pleased to be immersed in this new world. While this book lacks much of a central conflict, it is extremely rich in world-building and characters that I *immediately* related to (HI TRIS I LOVE YOU) and cheered for. Watching Pierce allow her characters to stand up to bullies, use privilege in all the best wa [...]

This is an AWESOME book. A tale of bravery, loyalty, friendship,sorrow, and magic. ( And mystery,too) I can't stop reading!! Try this book if you like mystery and magic.

I read this after I found a list of audiobooks that were recommended due to the use of a full cast of narrators/performers. This is a story of four children, one boy and three girls, that have been “collected” and sent to school to be mages, learning to control the world through magic. The story started a bit slow and I found it a bit confusing keeping track of the characters. Part of this was that the three girl characters were similar enough in actions and in voice that it was hard to keep [...]

*grabby hands* moar please

I came across this book in the library, and it sounded interesting, so I checked it out. There are four books in the original series, followed by another series of four more called The Circle Opens. It finishes off with a standalone named The Will of the Empress.Born into a hillbilly family, Tamora Pierce understood what it meant to be “American poor.” She fell in love with books at a young age and started writing when she was only 6 years old. It is said that many of her stories contain fem [...]

I've read this book before and I thought it was only okay. Something like sixth or seventh grade, after exhausting the other Tamora Pierce options I was interested in at the library, I picked it up, read it, and never continued with the series. Imagine my surprise to find that I really liked it this time.Sure, it's a lot of exposition. You spend a lot of time focused on Nico finding the four kids and bringing them from where they lived to Winding Circle, and once they're there you have to spend [...]

Forgive me if I spell names incorrectly. I listened to the unabridged audio version of this story. The four young characters are lively and the full cast reading makes the story come to life.The book centers around four young outcasts named Daja (a Trader), Briar (a street thief), Sandry (a noble) & Tris (a commoner). All, for one reason or another, are basically on their own and have experienced far too much pain and disappointment in their young lives. They’re unwanted, unloved, and unab [...]

One of my favorites. This is the book that introduced me to Tamora Pierce. My mom was at the library and looking for books by another author (Meredith Pirce perhaps? Something like that, books about vampires in an alternate universe) and found Sandry's Book instead. She brought it home to me and I dove in, knowing even in my adolescent angst that if my mom knows anything about anything, it's books!And so began my love affair with these fantasy novels for young adults (meaning teens of course). T [...]

This is more a 3.5d if I was rating it just for me it would be a 4.I read these books YEARS ago and I loved them, although never as much as I loved the Alanna books. I think the nostalgia factor definitely played into my enjoyment of this re-read. But overall, there will always be something for everybody to take from reading a book written by Tamora Pierce.Like with the Alanna books, this series DOES stand the test of time but there might be a couple of things that put today's readers off. The l [...]

A wonderful beginning to the Circle of Magic series! "The Magic in the Weaving" may be a slightly slower start when compared to the Alanna, Keladry and Daine series, but I actually preferred the steady pace with which certain elements of the plot are revealed. The different uses of magic is really highlighted here; I've rarely been so interested in reading the bare bones of how a character's own magic works, but Sandry's weaving of light into thread made me hold my breath. Although it may not be [...]

Re read this series and I still really love it and would recommend it to preteens everywhere. I can get enough of the realistic girls who are all different kinds of strong, or of the fact that people of many races are MC without much fanfare. She does fantasy writing right. Sandry is the first in the series and it makes sense narritive wise because she's the most driven to unite the group. Sandry has a pretty dark past, but she doesn't have the chip on her sholder that the other kids do. Probabl [...]

This is the epic beginning of Sandry, Tris, Briar, and Daja's friendship. Together, they discover just how strong the four of them are. They learn that they are not are not crazy (Tris) but that their powers lie in ordinary things. Briar's lies in plants, Tris's in weather, Daja's in metal working, and Sandry's in thread. When earthquakes rock Winding Circle, the four friends must set aside their differences and work together to stop the quakes. Excerpt to comeI LOVE Tamora Pierce's books! This [...]

It was really nice to (re)read this book again. Because of my blessed brain damage, I completely forgot how this series went, but I just remembered reading it in and ADORING it. I'm not going to say it's at my level, it's definitely a read for a 7th grader, but it's just one of those books that have such a beautiful universe that you don't care about the difficulty level, and just enjoy getting lost somewhere else for a little while; y'know?ANYWAYS. There are luckily 3 more books in this series, [...]

I gulped this down, because it is my jam! The opening section took way too long for my liking, since it was obvious what was going to happen, but (view spoiler)[once the four children are in Discipline, this book was exactly what I love to read. People learning practical skills that are also magic! People becoming friends despite differences and difficulties in trusting one another! A crisis brought about by a combination of hubris by strangers (so no need to feel bad) and natural processes! Cle [...]

This was a fantastic book! I really enjoyed re-reading it. My favourite part is near the end when the kids are trapped under the boulder. Edit: I don't know how I'm suppose to write another review for this to count for the challenge so I'll just write it separately below:I think no matter how many times I read this it will always be a 5 star for me! I can never get bored of Tamora's works. Especially the Emelan world. I always connect strongly with Tris and to a lesser extent Daja, Sandry, and B [...]