I've loved Tamora Pierce since I was a kid and I remember being so excited when she announced there was going to be a series on Numair back when I was in high school. It's been ten years since then, and I was so excited to pick this up, and it did not disappoint.

It's strange to review this book because it's so thoroughly spoiled for me, and the way I think about it is in the context of spoilers, having read the books that come later in the Tortall universe (mainly The Immortals, but also others). I can't think about this book and not think about everything I know that's going to happen, about Ozorne and Sarge and Lindhall and even Tristan. And it feels as though it was written intentionally for those of us who will have been spoiled. I think it can be enjoyed by anyone, but I wouldn't recommend this as a first Tamora Pierce book. I think her others do a better job of setting up the world.

My biggest critique was the lack of a general story arc. There isn't much plot. Arram does a lot of things, but they aren't a story arc. There isn't really a climax. It's sort of just a typical school story where extraordinary things happen, but they don't necessarily build to anything important. I really like that in realistic fiction, but I found it a bit disappointing here. It wasn't awful to read (clearly, I sill gave it 4 stars), but I love Pierce's dramatic climaxes and really missed it here. That's another reason I wouldn't recommend starting with this book as your first of hers. I expect the rest of the series will be better in this regard, just knowing what's to come.

I also found the time passage a little difficult to follow. The only way I could keep track was dates, and I don't enjoy that in a book. I'd rather get a good grasp from the narrative itself, but it was so fast paced that it was difficult. The book covered five years and it felt like I never new if two months had passed or two years. Not a huge problem especially since we were given dates, but still a minor annoyance.

Another critique that's more of Pierce's work as a whole than this particular book is how good her main characters are. They're always so good in the moral sense of the word. They hate bullies and stand up for those who are weaker and fight against prejudice and slavery. They're guided by strong moral compasses more than anything else. Which is fine for a book, but it does get kind of tiring when it's every single book she's written. It would be more interesting if a kid who grows up in a society where slavery is normalized learns to hate slavery, rather than just instinctively hating it from childhood despite going against his family and culture. And again, I wouldn't be bothered by it if it was just this book, but I've read every book she's published, and that kind of gets to be a lot.

Overall, I did really love it. It went by so fast and I loved the experience. It was fun to get to know Arram as a kid. He's such an interesting person, and I'm excited to see him grow into his powers and personality more. And this is one of those series that feels like it's going to get better because there's so much more to come. This book was fun and interesting, and learning all about the Imperial University was great. She hasn't explored magical schools before in this world and I loved it.

She does such a great job with having a large cast of characters and giving them all such strong personalities, but of course it helps that I've met most of them before in previous books. I honestly can't wait for the next book in the series because I expect it will be even better.

This is probably the last Sarah Dessen novel I remember enjoying, at least on my first time through the books. I don't think it holds up quite as well to adulthood, but it was never a favorite so perhaps my feelings haven't changed. I still think this book is quite good and a worthwhile read, but she definitely h.as better.

The best parts of this book remind me of The Truth About Forever, especially so because I just finished it earlier in the month. It feels like a very similar story with a very similar protagonist and I'd recommend picking up that one first because it's the better book (in my opinion, of course).

The worst parts of this book drag a bit. Not terribly, I was never bored, but I did find my attention lagging at points. The friendships were fine, the romance was good, the growth of Auden's character was well done, but none of it was anything special for me. It just felt like a good book, worthwhile if you're a fan of the genre, but probably not one I'd go out of my way to recommend.

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it had me bawling my eyes out. On the other, I had a lot of issues with the storytelling itself.

To start with the positives, this book absolutely hit me in the feels. I was reading it in the presence of my boyfriend and literally had to put it down at one point to leave the room because I didn't want to cry that hard in front of him. And then when I came back a few minutes later, I started crying again. It's obviously doing something right if it can make me that emotional.

I also loved that it dealt a lot with classism and the way people from different backgrounds have entirely different views of the world. There are three main characters, one is a white girl who comes from an affluent family (father is a dentist, mother is a real estate agent). Two are boys around or below the poverty line. Lydia obviously knows they have different experiences because of this, but I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of Lydia's life with Trader Joe's and Panera with Dill's dinners of expired food from the grocery store where he worked. Having both of those side by side made it hit so much harder. I will say at times it felt very heavy handed and there was too much of a lesson being taught, but overall I appreciated that element.

I thought the present tense flashbacks were jarring and awkward. The characters would be wandering around living life, and then smell freshly mowed grass and it'd be like "suddenly, he's 13, in his father's church." Flashbacks can be done well, but these felt much too forced and interrupted the flow of the story for me.

Now on to my two biggest issues. The first was Lydia. She was, in general, just an unpleasant person. I didn't relate to her, and as the story went on, she just got worse and worse. She runs a popular fashion blog, but never mentions either of her two friends. At one point after a bad day, Dill asks her why she never mentions them and Lydia takes this as an attack. She goes off on Dill and tells him not to take his bad day out on her, until eventually Dill is forced to apologize and beg for forgiveness. Then she makes him promise never to ask again and says she promises she has a good reason for protecting his privacy. Except earlier, she said she never mentioned either of her friends because they weren't "on brand" (literally the term she used). And then went on to use their difficult lives in her college admissions essay because they are perfectly on brand for that. She also said she wanted her friends to go to college because she didn't want them to lead pathetic lives (again, literally the term she used).

I understand character growth happens in a story, but there comes to a point where I don't care. After treating her friends so badly, I don't care if she learns the error of her ways. I just think she was pretty crappy and her friends deserve better. And I especially didn't like that a kid who had a pretty rough life was used to teach her a lesson. Which leads into my next point.

There are three narrators. It's not too many, but when the book is pretty evenly split between them, each character needs to be able to carry the story. It didn't feel like one character had enough of a story. They were interesting, their life was interesting, but they didn't have any kind of narrative arc like the other two had. They were just used to propel the other two characters in their own stories. This rubbed me the wrong way because it felt like this character, all the tragedy in their life, was just a cheap prop used to manipulate the reader's emotions and elicit change in the two real main characters. It felt uncomfortable and I found it very off putting.

My final point is in regards to the feminism and Lydia's sexuality. This is kind of a minor point as it was hardly in the story at all, but the feminism felt very superficial and fake. Like it was mostly about repeating buzzwords and calling men gross. I'd have been a bit more forgiving of that if it felt like it was intentional because the character is just an immature kid who has a lot more learning to do, but it didn't feel that way. It felt like that was Zentner's interpretation of feminism. I could easily be wrong, that was just how I felt while reading it.

And Lydia's sexuality was brought up a few times. She was called slurs and when asked if she was a lesbian, she said the answer was probably yes, she's a raging lesbians, but she answers on a case by case basis. But her only relationship involved a guy. This is something that wouldn't have bothered me if it was written by an LGBT+ woman, but coming from a man, it kind of made me uncomfortable how wishy washy it was. I was never sure if Lydia actually was intended as part of the LGBT+ community or just saying that for her blog.

But in general, I did enjoy this. I can see why people would have a lot of problems and rate this book lower, but I also see why people love it. For me, the emotions this book evoked outweighed a lot of my issues.

This was such a good book. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys specifically WW1 or even just history in general. Erik Larson is a wonderful writer and an even better researcher. His books are always chock full of details, sometimes overwhelmingly so, but at the end of the day, I appreciate it.

He does such a wonderful job of capturing the atmosphere and emotion of the time period in which he writes. I walked away from this book not only with the new information (because yes, like he said in his author's note, I too somehow learned in school that the sinking of the Lusitania triggered the war and didn't realize the US entered the war two years later), but also with an understanding of how these people felt, of what they individually went through.

What Larson does so well, and the overall strength of this book, is that he captures both the big picture and the tiny details. He tells the story of Captain Turner, of Theodate Pope, of Grace French, of a dozen other passengers on the ship, but also the story of how the United States entered the war and how the faults of the British helped lead to the sinking of the Lusitania.

I thought this book was so well crafted in addition to having wonderful information, which is very different to how I felt after The Devil in the White City. This is a book I can't recommend enough, and has left me more excited to continue through all of Larson's work.

I remember never being quite as fond of the Protector of the Small series as I was the other Tortall books, particularly the two first ones, but as an adult, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. The premise of the series is that 14 years after Alanna, girls are allowed to become knights, but it's still a very sexist, patriarchal society, so no girl has. I really enjoyed that because it didn't just have Alanna fixing everything by being a heroic woman. She definitely changed the world a great deal, but didn't solve all of its problems.

And Kel is a very different protagonist than Alanna. Alanna is a hero, a mythical figure almost with the gods on her side and powerful magic, coming from a long line of nobility. Kel is just an ordinary kid who wants to be knight like her older brothers, just like a hundred other kids in the country. She doesn't have magic, she doesn't have the gods on her side. She doesn't have lofty aspirations as a knight. She just wants to do her duty to her country. And it makes such an interesting contrast to Alanna, who has a strong presence in this book.

One of my favorite things about this book is how heavily it deals with femininity. Kel has very little desire in typically feminine pursuits because they don't interest her, but when the other boys bully her and threaten her and tell her to go home, she doesn't try to blend in. She actively wears dresses whenever possible to make herself girly as a reminder that she's different and she's not ashamed of being a girl. I loved that element. I've read very little that's more badass than a female character sticking it to a patriarchal society by actively being more feminine.

This book also deals more heavily with politics than the previous series in the Tortall universe, which I think is one reason I enjoyed it less as child, but I love it more for that now. The conservatives are fighting against many changes in the country, including female knights and fighters. Kel has little interest in politics, just wanting to be an ordinary knight, but she can't avoid it simply because she's a girl. It's an interesting element to the story, and really well done in this book.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this series. I think it's definitely better to read it after Alanna because so much of the world building and the government and history comes from that series, but it has fewer problematic issues as it was written fifteen years later. I think this may become my favorite series in this universe, just based off the first book.

(Tagged as YA for the series)

I'm not sure I was ever quite as fond of this book as the rest of the series. It feels more like a placeholder than an arc that needs to exist. The first book has a specific goal, Kel making it through year one. Then Squire and Lady Knight both have great stories of their own (that I remember), but this book feels like it's just biding necessary time. I didn't dislike it. A lot of interesting things happen and Kel is a wonderful character, but I think it's the weakest of the series.

It also has a pacing problem. It covers three years in 250 pages, but about half of that it pretty decently skimmed over and summarized. Maybe it would work better for me as a longer book, but it jumps between exciting events a fair amount, and the last year of her being a page is glossed over almost entirely.

But everything positive I had to say about the first book still stands here. 4 stars is by no means a negative rating. I only like this book less when compared to how much I enjoy the others. It's still a great book and I definitely recommend the series.

One thing I do remember particularly enjoying is how it deals with Kel aging. She actually comments on growing breasts and has to deal with getting her period, which is definitely something I enjoy seeing in fantasy books. And it's wonderful to see Kel growing into her own as a leader, despite the fact that so many men won't let her lead them and she still has to fight against prejudice. It's also nice to see her start winning over some people despite their prejudice. You can see the change she's effecting in the world, and it's really fantastic to see how much one person can do.

(Marked as YA and favorites for the series)

I have rarely felt so accomplished upon completing a book. This was an absolute struggle for me, but very worthwhile in the end.

I'm leaving this unrated because I don't feel it would be appropriate for me to judge this book. I normally rate based on enjoyment, but I enjoyed this book very little. If I were rating just on that, this would probably rank around one or two stars. That didn't feel right because it's nonfiction, and in particular, nonfiction about a topic I in general have no interest in. I knew going in this book wasn't for me, but I read it anyway in order to gain something from it.

I also can't judge it based on merit or how well it discussed the Meuse Argonne Offensive because I really have no idea. I couldn't have told you which war that came from before reading this book, and I'm honestly not even sure I'd heard of it before. Is it a good account of it? Possibly. I couldn't say.

But I got a lot out of it. Not as much as the book had to offer, but I learned so much about this particular offensive, WW1 in general, and a lot of key players of the time. It was worthwhile in that way. I learned a lot. I did struggle following the description military action (which was pretty much all of the book, and I was kind of expecting a little more history surrounding it, rather than just a play by play), but I'm so glad I picked it up and struggled my way through.

I definitely couldn't appreciate to the full extent, though. I couldn't really discuss any of the points from this book in greater detail. But I learned a lot and pushed myself out of my comfort zone, which was the goal.

I think this book stands as my favorite in the series. There are a couple reasons for this. First, I love the romance. I love that Kel gets crushes on a couple different people. It feels realistic for a teenage girl who doesn't always see her crushes for months at a time. They fade and are replaced by others, although none of them control her life or behavior. They're just small aspects of her existence. And then once the real romance happens, it too feels very realistic. She's a sixteen year old with a whole different set of rules than anyone else who can't quite figure out what she wants. It doesn't change her personality or any of her original goals, it just adds a new facet to her life and story.

I also really enjoy her relationship with Raoul, her knight master. All squires are taken by and knight and hers is a minor character from the Alanna series who has honestly become one of my favorite characters in Pierce's Tortall world. Raoul is such a good role model for Kel and just in general, a good dude and interesting person.

One other strong element in this book that continues from the previous books in the series is the heavy focus on politics. From the start, there is more politics in this series than either the Alanna books or the Immortals quartet. But this book really takes it to the next level. Kel deals with leadership, learning more about the King's motivations, changing laws, the general political climate. I like that it's a lot more nuanced than just good people vs bad people. Alanna and Daine were both fighting evil in various forms, but Kel is a lot more about fighting the system, intentionally or not.

And of course, my favorite part has to be the way Pierce includes feminism. Kel's periods are mentioned on a regular basis. Nothing graphic or major, just a casual "oh hey, before I go out on this raiding party, I need to grab a couple pads because my period just started." I literally want more of that in all the books I read. And one of my favorite scenes in this book is when Raoul, 6'6" giant killer and leader of the king's personal army, helps Kel sew rips in her sheets and has tiny, neat stitches. As a kid who'd never seen stereotypically manly men do that in either real life or books, it meant a lot. The book is full of things like that.

I think it still has some of the same pacing problems as Page, but not quite as bad. There are definitely months that are summarized in a list, but it felt a lot more natural in this book. The length also helped in that regard.

Three quarters of the way through this series, I can confidently say that this is my current favorite set in Pierce's Tortall universe. I adore it and would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys mg/ya fantasy.

I was just the tiniest bit disappointed by this book. I really loved it, but not quite as much as Squire and not enough to be a full five stars. It's only a little longer than book three, but it felt so much longer while reading it. The ending was exciting and there were numerous exciting things that took place during the book, but the first two thirds dragged a bit for me. I was still interested, but it took a concerted effort to keep picking this book up. I didn't fly through it the way I did the first three books.

There wasn't a pacing issue in this one since it wasn't taking place over a specific period of time. The events just happened as they happened, no need to skip long months of time. It takes place over the course of less than a year, making it the shortest time period of any book in the series. I think that helped the pacing, but it did make the book drag just a little.

Beyond that, my thoughts are the same as for the first three. I love Kel's character. The feminism is great. It's a fantastic ending. I absolutely recommend this series. You don't technically need to read Alanna or the Immortals first, but I would recommend at least picking up Alanna. I think it explains a lot about the world and helps with appreciating the books overall.

I had a great deal of difficulty with this poem. The first 29 cantos were wonderful, and I found out after reading that they were originally a standalone piece of poetry. The rest of the poem was only added later, and for me the distinction was obvious. I was almost entirely lost for most of the rest of the story, only following again for a bit in the end.

I'm sure part of that is because this is one of my first forays into poetry pretty much ever, and I'm not a sci-fi reader either. This was far out of my comfort zone in every regard. But I also read this online in what I believe was an unofficial translation. There were numerous spelling errors and inconsistent repetition and rhyming, so part of it could also have been the translation (I really have no idea in that regard- it could have been fine, but it seemed worth a mention). Additionally there were notes at the very end which I didn't know about until I'd already finished, and those would have been immensely helpful. They explained a lot of the made up words that were scattered throughout.

So my rating is a combination of thoroughly enjoyed some parts of the poem, but couldn't follow others at all. I think the first 29 cantos would have been four stars for me because I thought they were lovely. The language was wonderful and the story itself grabbed me. Beyond that, it seemed to lose focus and that's why it took me over a month to get through. It was hard to pick up a poem I knew I wasn't understanding/appreciating.

I think I would reread the first 29 cantos again and stop there, and I would definitely recommend picking this book up if you enjoy science fiction just for that beginning. It was worthwhile, and I'm glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone even the work overall wasn't for me.