Street Magic (Circle Opens Series #2), Vol. 2 » (Reprint)

Tamora Pierce lives in Syracuse, New York, with her husband, Tim, five cats, two birds, and various freeloading wildlife. Visit her online at www.tamorapierce.com.

Whem Briar Moss spots a street kid using magic in a marketplace, he knows he must find her a teacher. But before he can do so, Briar and the young mage are swept up in gang warfare that puts them both in grave danger. Now Briar must decide if he's ready to step in as young Evvy's mentor -- and if he's ready to put his own gang life behind him for good.

KLIATT

Briar Moss has been training as a plant mage for four years now, and he and his teacher have come to the ancient eastern city of Chammur to use their magic to help the farmers there. In the bustling marketplace Briar comes across a street child named Evvy who clearly possesses magic as well: the stones she is polishing glow as she touches them (this exotic scene is depicted on the cover). Briar learns to his dismay from his teacher that having discovered an untrained mage, he is to be the one responsible for training her. Briar is only 14, and he feels he isn't up to the job. But when he realizes that a wicked noblewoman who runs one of the street gangs wants Evvy to work for her, using her magical talent to steal precious stones, his protective instincts—and his own background as a gang member—come into play. Together Briar and Evvy foil the gangs and the nasty noblewoman, in an exciting and rather violent climax. Evvy begins to learn the art of controlling her magic from Briar, and he begins to feel pride in his new role as teacher. The Circle Opens series is a continuation of Pierce's Circle of Magic quartet, which told how Briar and three other mages learned about their magical abilities. In this new series, each takes on an apprentice (Book 1, Magic Steps, was reviewed in KLIATT in Jan. 2000, p. 8). Tales of teens with special powers always have appeal (witness the success of X-men, for example), and this fantasy is also fast moving and well written. Impudent Evvy is a good match for streetwise Briar, and Pierce delivers a strong anti-gang message as well as an engrossing tale. A glossary of invented terms is appended at the end. The Circle Opens Quartet, Book 2.KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2001, Scholastic, 302p, $16.95. Ages 13 to 15. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick; March 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 2)