Magic Steps, by Tamora Pierce

Daja, Briar, and Tris have all left Winding Circle to travel the world with their teachers. But Sandry has stayed behind in Summersea to look after her Uncle who nearly died from a heart attack. But in no way does Sandry miss out in any excitement that might be found by traveling. Looking after Vedris is a full time job; especially since he does not like to stay abed and rest. Keeping him resting is even more difficult after murderers start killing the Rokat family one by one and hanging their heads in public places. And to top it all off, Sandry discovers a young man who has dance magic, and doesn’t know it. She is now obligated to teach him and keep him out of trouble. Pasco is certainly a handful, the murders keep going on, and Vedris has to keep looking for the murderers. Sandry longs for her housemates, but they are half a world away and she must deal with her own problems now.

This is the first book in the Circle Opens quartet. The Circle Opens quartet deals with the children (now that they are all accredited mages) having to take on students once they have discovered them. As was said above, this book deals with Sandry and her student Pasco. We get to see more of Sandry in this book than in her previous book in the Circle of Magic quartet. We are introduced to a great character in Yasmin, and I wish we could see her more.

I have a few things to quibble about, but they are mostly minor. Number one, is that Sandry is only 14, but sometimes it seems like she should be 4 years older at least. I know that in most books the main characters (if they are children) rarely act their age. But even though she was forced to grow up quickly, I don’t know if it is quite possible for a 14 year old to have the same maturity level as a responsible 18 year old (exceptions not withstanding). My second issue contains a bit of plot spoiler that some might not want to read if they are interested in reading the book for themselves. Just skip to the below paragraph. I liked the character of Wulfric Snaptrap, and he was certainly useful. But I have issues when authors introduce a character and kill him in the same book. Especially whey you can tell that they want you to empathize and feel sorry that they are dead. I have trouble doing this if the character hasn’t been around long enough or done enough to get me attached to them. When they die, I have a hard time caring as much as the author wishes I would. All this happened in the case of Wulfric, and I wish it didn’t.

On the whole, Magic Steps is just as good as the rest of the previous series. It’s sad that we don’t see all the children together, but even on their own they are quite formidable. Tamora Pierce never allows the plot to flag, or our attentions to waver. She keeps our interest steady by introducing new ideas intermixed with old. I do think that Sandry might be a weaker character than the others, but that does not seriously effect Pierce’s writing. This book is good for a light read, and it certainly is a quick one. It is perfect for lovers of the first series, so I suggest you go out and pick it up at your local library.