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Terrier (The Legend of Beka Cooper, Book 1) | March 16, 2016

by Tamora Pierce (Ember, Random House Children's Books, 2007)

Tamora Pierce is a gift from the YA fantasy gods. She creates dynamic, strong, and relatable female characters. A large amount of her canon is set in the compelling and fully-realized world of Tortall. As a teen, I discovered and devoured The Song of the Lioness Quartet, and fell in love with this fantasy world. Years later, having been reminded of those books when reading another excellent fantasy novel (Uprooted by Naomi Novik), I went in search of any Tamora Pierce book I could get my hands on and found Terrier!

Set in Tortall a few hundred years before the events of the Lioness Quartet, Terrier, the first in a three-part series, follows Beka Cooper as she makes a name for herself in the Provost Guard. Beka is a tough, smart, but imperfect heroine. Her flaws are believable and not annoying. The story is told through her perspective as she keeps a journal of her first months in the Guard, documenting her adventures in making friends, living on her own, and bringing a murderer to justice. Fans of the Lioness Quartet will love this heroine as much as Alanna and enjoy learning more about the world Mrs. Pierce has so eloquently constructed. New readers will clamor for more!

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