In the Hand of the Goddess

In the Hand of the Goddess, Tamora Pierce, 232 p.

Alanna of Trebond continues her education as a knight, hiding her identity as a young woman from others along the way. By the end of the novel, she has obtained her shield as a knight and gets ready to travel the world and have adventures. The second novel includes some light elements of romance, knightly heroics in a border dispute between two nations, and a daring duel against a villian. Overall, it's a fun YA fantasy read.

Alanna: The First Adventure

Alanna: The First Adventure, Tamora Pierce, 249 p.

Alanna: The First Adventure is the first installment in Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness series, a young adult series that focuses upon the coming of age of Alanna of Trebond as she becomes a knight in the realm of Tortall. To do this, she has to pose as a boy to start her training as a knight, while her twin brother who is interested in learning magic takes her place in the convents that teach it. I read this series when I was in grade school, and find that it is still wonderfully engaging today. The story is well paced, and the characters provide a vibrant insight into the world.

Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy, Martha Wells, 172 pages

Martha Wells' Exit Strategy is the final installment in the Murderbot series. It nicely wraps up all the loose ends and plot lines of the series in a very tidy way. Murderbot's ongoing struggle with its emerging human emotions and difficulty in parsing out human interactions still resonate with me. The entire series has had wonderful quips from Murderbot, and this novella is no exception. There were plenty of times Murderbot made me smirk as I was reading, often at its characterization of an incident.

Uprooted

Uprooted, Naomi Novik, 448 pages

Naomi Novik's Uprooted is November's Orcs and Aliens book club book. It centers around Agnieszka and the Dragon's fight against a deeply corrupted evil forest. It draws a lot of influences from Eastern European folklore, and Agnieszka's magic shares a connection to the stories of Baba Yaga. Novik's storytelling is clear and well written, and her protagonists have wonderful depth and purpose. I'm very excited to see what the rest of the book club thinks of this novel, as I highly enjoyed it.