Im Still Working My Way Through Re-listening To The Circle Of Magic Series And Im Obsessed With The Way

I’m still working my way through re-listening to the Circle of Magic series and I’m obsessed with the way that we get four extremely different mentor/mentee relationships that speak to each Circle kid’s character development.

 Like Sandry and Lark are the ultimate Mom Friend vs. Mom Friend duo whose gentleness and optimism is cut with extreme Fuck Around and Find Out energy, they’re all words of affirmation while Lark helps Sandry not nuclear escalate every situation where she has the moral high ground.

Briar and Rosethorn are the combination of prickly introvert meets the most ride-or-die mentee who has ever existed, two cynics with hearts of gold who admit that they love each other like once on pain of death but are constantly performing extreme acts for each other.

Daja “I’ll keep all of my emotions inside and then one day I’ll die” Kisubo gets Frostpine, who is also the most even-tempered of the mentors but helps her be like the pragmatic center of her group while not getting stepped on and Having an Emotion every now and then. I feel like Frostpine is the best of the four at navigating his mentee’s extreme trauma with a lot of delicate intentionality while making it look like an effortless combination of fondness and dad jokes.

And then on the opposite side there’s Tris and Niko, who are both a lot more emotionally volatile and obsessive about their research, but who Get each other to the extent that they can be super blunt and prickly at each other without lasting consequences. They also both walk away from every social situation being like “hmmm that was not my best work.” I feel like a lot of Tris’ emotional development comes from the other kids/mentees, especially when it comes to her abandonment issues, etc. but Tris and Niko just like vibe through both being That Bitch. Niko expresses his affection by shouting when Tris tries a cool experiment that might kill her and being like ‘this is MY student, go get your own’ every time someone else notices that Tris is like, ridiculously powerful and smart, but that actually works for them both.

when i started rereading the circle of magic books i did not consider how briars book would hit given the current state of things 😂

Lady Sandrilene Fa Toren is filled with rage and I love her so much

episode 21 of Backlog Books (link in pinned post)

Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce

This series is about four magical kids: Sandry, Tris, Daja, and Briar learning to accept who they are, their strange new magic and their new home and community.

Part of why I like returning to these books is that there’s always more to discover. Reading it as a kid, I was focused on the magic and the adventure. Reading this time around, I was really struck by the Living Circle religion and the respect for nature as a powerful force to be respected. And, honestly, who hasn’t wished for the power to save those we love from horrible situations, like earthquakes or plagues. 

I love this series. These kids are so loved and supported by their community and their teachers and each other.

(Agree agree agree! And if it is not overstepping I'd also like to add)

I love you circle of magic I love you emelan I love you ambient mages I love you sandry briar daja and tris. I love you lark rosethorn frostpine niko and yes even you crane I love you evvy and luvo and glaki and bear and zegoras

i love you tamora pierce i love you song of the lioness i love you circle of magic i love you immortals i love you protector of the small i love you beka cooper

State of the bookshelf: march 7, 2023

I have not read one single book. But I did move, entirely, in one week, while also working full time and not taking any time off. So there's that. I live in a kingdom of boxes. The kitchen is an obstacle course. My car's capacity is quite good considering its overall size.

Reading: fugitive telemetry, martha wells.

Recently read: dragon's kiss, ED Baker. Network Effect, martha wells. Jingo, terry pratchett.

Supposed to be reading: on teaching children. Black tide of heaven. ???