Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher
Oct. 13th, 2020 08:54 pmMinor Mage
4/5. Oliver only knows three spells, and one of them is to help him with his allergies. Nonetheless, his village sends him off to find the rains to end the drought.
An extremely charming late middle grade / early young adult tale of a boy and his armadillo familiar (the armadillo is the adult in the room, to be clear) making their way through travails and dangers. In addition to her usual light, humorous touch, this has a real sense of consequence and gravity. Oliver usually knows what the right thing to do is, but doing it doesn't always leave him feeling great. That's how it is sometimes, kiddo. Anyway, thematically this book is about the perils and virtues of collective action and individual action – the wisdom of crowds and the horror of crowds, the strength of the individual and the loneliness of the individual, that sort of thing.
Content notes: Various threats of violence, mostly offscreen child harm.
4/5. Oliver only knows three spells, and one of them is to help him with his allergies. Nonetheless, his village sends him off to find the rains to end the drought.
An extremely charming late middle grade / early young adult tale of a boy and his armadillo familiar (the armadillo is the adult in the room, to be clear) making their way through travails and dangers. In addition to her usual light, humorous touch, this has a real sense of consequence and gravity. Oliver usually knows what the right thing to do is, but doing it doesn't always leave him feeling great. That's how it is sometimes, kiddo. Anyway, thematically this book is about the perils and virtues of collective action and individual action – the wisdom of crowds and the horror of crowds, the strength of the individual and the loneliness of the individual, that sort of thing.
Content notes: Various threats of violence, mostly offscreen child harm.