Gateway Readers' Award Nominees

The Blogs: 2008-09

Terrier: The Legend of Beka Cooper #1

by Tamora Pierce 

School Library Journal (February 1, 2007)

Orphaned Beka Cooper, 16, is a trainee-a "Puppy"-in the Provost's Guard. Having spent the first half of her life in Tortall's slums, she is driven by the need to do what is right and see justice done. Paired with two of the best Guards, or "Dogs," in the organization and aided by her own gifts of magic, Beka learns her job, makes friends with two mages and a thief, and uncovers two serial killers who prey on the poor and unnoticed. With Terrier, Pierce tries out a new style of storytelling and succeeds admirably. Beka, the ancestor of George Cooper from the "Song of the Lioness" series (S & S), tells her story through journal entries, making for a thoroughly engaging read. The characters are recognizable types, but all have their own personalities. Readers will enjoy meeting the Lady Knight Sabine of Macayhill, Alanna's precursor in profession and temperament; Rosto the Piper; and Beka's friends. The level of violence is comparable to that found in "The Circle Opens" series (Scholastic) but isn't as gratuitous. This seems mostly to be due to the journal format, which gives readers only Beka's thoughts and feelings as opposed to those of the killers as well. With its rollicking adventure, appealing characters, and inclusion of Tortall's history, Terrier will be in strong demand by Pierce's fans. It will keep readers on the edge of their seats.-Lisa Prolman, Greenfield Public Library, MA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Horn Book (Spring 2007)

Sword-and-sorcery meets police procedural in this latest from the wildly popular Pierce. Set some two hundred or so years before the Song of the Lioness Quartet, this new series introduces readers to sixteen-year-old Beka Cooper, a Puppy (trainee) in Corus's Guard. The protege of the Lord Provost, whose attention she caught with her ability to hear the dead, she has been assigned to the best team of Dogs on the Lower City beat. Swiftly, Beka not only proves her enormous talent at Dog work but also discovers two ghastly crimes: someone has been hiring, then murdering, the desperately poor, and a mysterious figure has been kidnapping and killing the Lower City's children. The fun of this offering is in the dynamic characterization and action that take readers to Beka's inevitable triumph. Beka -- who narrates her story via a diary -- is appealing in her dedication to her fellow Lower City dwellers, and sketches of her compatriot Dogs and the criminals they sometimes apprehend and sometimes befriend are equally deft. Indeed, perhaps the book's greatest strength is its raw portrayal of the fine line between law and lawlessness in the choices the Dogs make as they do their jobs.

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