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Read Daja's Book (2006)

Daja's Book (2006)

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Rating
4.03 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0590554107 (ISBN13: 9780590554107)
Language
English
Publisher
scholastic

Daja's Book (2006) - Plot & Excerpts

Third in the Circle of Magic fantasy series for young middle-grade readers and revolving around four young friends tied together by magic.Daja's Book was nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature in 2000.Visit KD Did It Takes on Books for a chronological listing of the books in the Circle of Magic series.My TakeAfter two books of adventure, the kids are amazing together. It's teamwork and friendship as they come to a greater understanding of how the magic bond they share works. Talking about support, I absolutely adored (and laughed) when Sandry, Briar, and Tris stood up for Daja and forced Polyam to treat Daja with politeness and all the trimmings.Daja discovers a new ability by accident, growing metal into a plant with leaves that grow. It also brings her courage, the confidence to insist on bargaining directly with the Traders.Ooh, that rivalry between Niko and Firetamer is intense, and one of the reasons for Firetamer's insecurity. There's a good lesson in here for your own children, one of accepting one's limitations. Of becoming comfortable with it, but not complacent. There's also an environmental lesson in here, one we've only come to understand these past few decades about the importance of fire in a forest. A secondary lesson in this is that one never stops learning. God knows I'm always learning something new!Sandry has a nice bit of wisdom for Daja, that since she is no longer a Trader, she is her own person. That she can make her own status, to stand up for herself. Daja raises her own questions about fame and envy.I hate people like those in Gold Ridge, more interested in status and showing off.That was unfair of Niko, scolding the kids for something they did when he never said anything before.Little bits of background are dropped by Sandry, Frostpine (the betrayal of his parents was huge), Lark, and the reason Polyam lost her status (damn these Traders are superstitious people!).The StoryFires are ravaging Gold Ridge Valley, and Duke Vedris has brought the kids to see what they can do to help.It's a new aspect of her magic, making metal grow, creating a net of metal that can smother fire. A skill that will save many lives and create enough zokin that Daja's name will be added back onto the records of the Tsaw'ha.The CharactersWinding Circle templeDaja Kisubo was once a Trader, but after a shipwreck in which she was the only survivor, her people have cast her out. She's trangshi, and she does not exist to Traders anymore. Lady Sandrilene "Sandry" is a noble, the great-niece of Duke Vedris. Her magic lies in weaving and spinning. Pirisi was her Trader nurse who died protecting her. Briar Moss was a street rat before Niko found him; now he exercises his earth magic. Trisana "Tris" Chandler loves to read and has a power over nature.The Dedicates who are in charge at Discipline Cottage are Rosethorn, a powerful earth dedicate with an affinity for growing whose childhood was on a farm, and Lark is a thread-mage whose skill lies with weaving whose past includes juggling and dancing. They only accept mageborn.Little Bear is the puppy the kids rescued in Sandry's Circle, 1. Shriek is the starling Tris rescued in Tris's Book, 2.Frostpine is a smith-mage, one of the greatest and Daja's teacher. Niklaren "Niko" Goldeye is a wandering mage who finds things and people who are hidden. He's also the kids' instructor.Duke Vedris IV rules Emelan.Gold Ridge Valley has its……own gold: saffron. Lady Inoulia fa Juzon is the valley's ruler and something of a snob. Yarrun Firetamer is the mage who puts out the fires in the valley. He's an insecure braggart whose pride and ignorance ends up killing him. His father, Ulmerin Valeward, is also a mage. Khalib ul Hanoh is the village smith where Daja creates her plant.Traders in the Tenth Caravan IdaramPolyam is the wirok of Tenth Caravan Idaram, and she can't speak to Daja even though she has very low status among her people (she lost a leg in a rockslide). Chandrisa is the gilav! They prize cooking and bargaining. Wirok buys supplies for the caravan; they bring no profit and so they are of the second lowest status. Mimanders are Trader mages while a xurdin is a general term for mages. A gilav is a caravan boss. A hamot is a fool who will accept the first offer made. Qunsuanen is a person who has undergone qunsua, a ceremony that supposedly protects a Trader if she must speak with a trangshi *major eye roll*. Zokin is the credit listed against your name in a Trader's ledgers and encompasses both the money you accumulate and your personal status within the caravan. Lugsha are artisans. Kaq is a rude word that means outsider. Daka are higher-status Traders. Blue Traders travel the seas. White Traders travel in snow or sand. Tsaw'ha is the Trader name for themselves.The Cover and TitleThe cover is golden with its yellow green sky and a darker yellow green hazy forest with great golden blades of grass rising up from the base of the cover, both framing a black cloaked figure on a white horse.The title is who the focus of the story is on, for it's Daja's Book.

On the horizon the landscape's burnin' red...On the heels of the earthquake and the ensuant pirate attack, the Duke is taking a tour of Northern districts and is, of course, taking along our four kids and their teachers as part of his retinue. There's been a severe drought going on for three years and grass fires are becoming more frequent as a result. A mage hasn't allowed a forest fires for decades, to the point where mast lays thick under the dry canopies of the trees. He scoffs at the living circle mages and their circle of life nonsense. He also says some very pointed things about how magic is proper only when it can be assessed and measured in books -- Pierce has Opinions about education.The four's magic is becoming more enmeshed daily, to the point where it leaks uncontrolled into their workings with mixed results: Daja creates a living metal plant, Briar fries a field of flowers. A solution is found, but not without some sacrifices.The core of the book though is Daja having to deal directly with her people, the Traders, who named her an unlucky trangshi after the sinking of her family's ship and have refused to acknowledge her existence since. But with that living metal vine, the Traders must meet Daja on her own terms. That plot gave some depth to the story and something for us to care about other than a valley that brought a bad mess onto its own head and the problems of the kids getting crazy levels of power unearned. Really, as much as their teachers make the point of how they need to learn control to get anywhere, they seem to manage just fine doing whatever they feel like with barely any consequences.Daja, as well as Tris and sometimes Sandry, are great female characters in a field that is strewn with vapid girls helpless without their man friends. I just keep getting distracted by the fact that they went from zero to super-powered in only a matter of months. I don't think I noticed when I was eleven though, so I guess the objection doesn't matter.

What do You think about Daja's Book (2006)?

omg it does get better, I swear to god. I'd even say Briar's Book is probably as good as Daja's Book, but then everything really starts to take off in the books after that.
—Madison

Now that the students have learned more control they are venturing out with their teachers. The north has faced severe drought and the Duke is trying to see what he can do to help. The whole group is there, and their connections to each other have only grown. Their magic is seeping out through their friends and it is getting dangerous. On top of that this land filled with drought is facing its first major fires in years. If the fire catches it could be disastrous but the local mage believes he cannot fail. He has a terrible ego and being around the famous mages just makes it worse. The mix of magics is causing chaos and at the same time Daja is having to face Trader folk for the first time since her banishment. At first you hate them but then you grow to like the liason. It has always been hardest for Daja to leave her old life behind, but now we truly see her torn between her desires. I like that we make her choose because if she were to always wonder she would never truly settle. So far this is my favorite book in the series. I also just love smith magic.Original Review on my Website
—Stephanie Jobe

Re-read June 16,2014.Beautiful story as always.Vivid imagery which makes this world come alive in my mind's eyes. Just lovey to read.Satisfied sigh.So pleased!-------------------------------------------------------------------------SpoilerNote to Self: EmelanDaja Kisubo(trader,ex-outcast,orphan,11yo,metal smith apprentice,pal),Frostpine(metal smith,mentor to Daja,Fire Dedicate,pal1),Trisana Chandler(Tris,12yo,weather mage apprentice,merchant,pal)& Shriek(her starling),Niklaren Goldeye(Niko,53yo,master mage far seer,mentor to Tris, pal1),Lady Sandrilene fa Toren(Sandry,noble,heiress,weaver mage apprentice,great-niece,pal),Briar Moss(former street rat & thief,plant mage apprentice,pal)& Shakkan tree(146yo magical),Little Bear(their dog),Lark Orela aka Nairne(pal1,weaver mage,Dedicate Earth temple, mentor of Sandry),Rosethorn(Rosie,33yo,plant mage,Dedicate Earth temple,mentor of Briar,pal1),Polyam(Trader,daughter,wirok of 10th Caravan Idaram,new pal),Chandrisa(Trader,mother,ride leader of 10th Caravan Idaram,gilav),Honorable Dedicate Moonstream(runs Winding Circle, Superior),Duke Vedris IV(ruler of Emelan,great-uncle).
—Marina

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