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juushikaTitle: Briar's Book (Circle of Magic Book 4)
Author: Tamora Pierce
Published: New York: Scholastic, 1999
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 260
Total Page Count: 175,365
Text Number: 513
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Briar and his mentor Rosethorn are caught at the epicenter of a plague outbreak in the Capital. As with Daja's Book, this is another character-focused story. The dynamic between the four students falls to the background, a dependable foundation; the relationship between Briar and Rosethorn takes precedence, and the fact that these characters are prickly means that their dynamic can be poignant without being saccharine. The plot is obvious, as per series's standard, which strips away tension but doesn't little emotional harm.
Briar's Book isn't really an end, both because there's another quartet and because there's little overarching plot. But it gives this quartet satisfying emotional closure. I would have loved these as a younger reader; I find them a bit simplistic now, in plot and pacing and occasionally characterization (though this last improves significantly in the series's second half), but they remain superbly satisfying, id-fulfilling comfort reads, domestic, intimate, heartfelt. What a treasure.
Author: Tamora Pierce
Published: New York: Scholastic, 1999
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 260
Total Page Count: 175,365
Text Number: 513
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Briar and his mentor Rosethorn are caught at the epicenter of a plague outbreak in the Capital. As with Daja's Book, this is another character-focused story. The dynamic between the four students falls to the background, a dependable foundation; the relationship between Briar and Rosethorn takes precedence, and the fact that these characters are prickly means that their dynamic can be poignant without being saccharine. The plot is obvious, as per series's standard, which strips away tension but doesn't little emotional harm.
Briar's Book isn't really an end, both because there's another quartet and because there's little overarching plot. But it gives this quartet satisfying emotional closure. I would have loved these as a younger reader; I find them a bit simplistic now, in plot and pacing and occasionally characterization (though this last improves significantly in the series's second half), but they remain superbly satisfying, id-fulfilling comfort reads, domestic, intimate, heartfelt. What a treasure.
