Tamora Pierce . . . I suspect that nearly everyone reading this blog (with the exception of my father — hi, Dad!) will have at least a passing familiarity with the name. I, of course, have read pretty much everything she’s published (at least all the novels). Why? Because when I started reading children’s fantasy, she was one of the few authors who was writing it. In any case, she lives in upstate New York, having relocated there from New York City, with an assortment of cats and her husband/spouse-creature, Tim Liebe. Together they have authored a series of comic books, and he also works on the Full Circle full-cast audio books. Melting Stones was originally an audio book, released last year, and was published in dead-tree format a couple months ago.

Evvy, Briar’s student from his Circle Opens book (Street Magic), is fourteen now; her temper isn’t that much improved, and after she picks a fight with some Temple students, Rosethorn (Briar’s teacher) drags her along with Myrrhtide to an island south of Emelan. They’ve been called there because things are inexplicably dying on the island: trees, plants, and all the fish in several ponds and small lakes. Evvy hates water travel, but once she gets to the island, she’s awfully excited, because there are so many interesting kinds of rocks that she’s never seen before on the island. Unfortunately, they figure out what’s happening fairly quickly, and they have to move fast. Can they avoid the disaster that’s nearly upon them?

This book is in first person, which makes a lot of sense for having formerly been an audio book. Secondarily, Ms. Pierce’s last book, Terrier (Beka Cooper, book 1), was also in first person; perhaps she’s just thinking in that mode at the moment. Evvy (Evumeimei) is an interesting narrator; she’s usually reliable. She rarely stays her tongue, but feels quite deeply when she’s done something wrong. Because she’s not very fond of people as a rule, she’s usually exasperated when they take a liking to her for what she sees as no reason. So children, of whom there are several in this book, are low on her list. When we saw Evvy last, she didn’t have nearly as much definition to her character, and it was lovely to see her again, at an older age and in a much better situation.

The other characters in this book include Rosethorn, a perennial favorite; Dedicate Myrrhtide, who gets along with Evvy poorly as he has a much inflated opinion of himself; Luvo, who is the heart of a mountain walking around in a smallish, vaguely crystal-bear form; their liaison on the island and a student of the old mage who lives there; and another man who has opened his home to all the orphaned children on the island (of which there are quite a few). I barely remembered Luvo from his previous appearance, but I thought he was one of my favorite characters. His actions are very important to the plot, as is his heart-of-a-mountain status. I hope we see more of him and Evvy (as they are nearly inseparable) in the future.

Overall, the book was in line with some of the earlier Circle books, in terms of reading age. 10-14-year-olds should have no problem with this book at all. It appears to happen concurrently with The Will of the Empress, but is significantly shorter and aimed at a slightly different crowd. I should think it would be much easier for one to have read all the Circle of Magic and the Circle Opens books before one reads Melting Stones, but I didn’t remember much in the way of specifics, so a brief introduction to their world and their system of magic (ambient magic, explained in the text) would probably be sufficient. Also, I have not heard the audio book version, but a friend of mine has reassured me that it is excellent. Recommended for Tamora Pierce fans, as well as those reading classic children’s fantasy (Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander) and enjoying it. 4/5 stars.