Tortall and Other Lands

Let me just begin by saying, yes, I know that I am no longer a thirteen year old girl. I cannot justify putting myself in the child category and let’s face it, even young adult literature is really only aimed at sixteen year olds. Nope, I am very much too old for Tamora Pierce’s most recent book and yet I read it because she is my hero. I have read literally every book the woman has ever written and give her full credit for my childhood not being completely devoid of positive, strong, female role models. In her latest, Tortall and Other Lands, a collection of short stories set within the universe of the Tortall novels, Pierce proves once again that she has mastered the creation of the young female heroine who isn’t afraid to be witty, sharply clever, and fierce with a sword to boot.

I will grant you this; the stories all blur together a bit unless you’ve read the rest of Pierce’s work and remember the particular characters that she does revisit. It was quite fun for an avid fan like myself to find out what happened after Numair turned Tristan into a tree, and just how Ally and Nawat’s marriage turned out. Of course you’re probably reading this shaking your head and saying, “Who?” Never fear! There are stories in this collection that require no previous reading or knowledge of Pierce’s characters. In fact, those are perhaps the best ones, especially her brief foray into a Islamic-esque setting that relates to present political circumstances without blatantly delivering an opinion of such.

Now, I’m not saying this is an overtly bad thing, but each story follows a very distinct formula: young girl whose a bit of an outsider asserts herself and proves that just because she is young and a woman doesn’t mean anyone else can mess with her. There isn’t any grand language or style, and you never have to stop and really think about any particular part. It’s all easy, and for that I think the collection succeeds in its ultimate purpose, to get young girls to read and feel good about whom they are and can become. Hell, I’m old (not really, but for all intents and purposes) and I thoroughly enjoyed whipping through a story or two on my break and work. In the end I wasn’t looking for something to mentally challenge me. I wanted the comfort of an author I’ve grown up with and that’s exactly what I got.