I enjoyed this book, but I found the identity of the killer to be very unsatisfying. Maybe I really am going to have to make a shelf for endings ruined by that particular trope. ( )

I'm reading the two Circle series out of order, and I say, "Finally!" now that I've had the chance to read a story about Trisana Chandler. In addition, the story includes her foster family's dog, Little Bear, and an amusing and gorgeous new critter, a glass dragon brought to life by magic thanks to Tris's new student, Kethlun Warder.

I love Tris. She's reasonable, tough, but not in the stereotypical way. She knows a little about everything: weather magic, foresight, self defense, befriends magical and mundane creatures, adopts the magical responsibilities of others, uses wind to overhear, and so much more that was hinted and shown in Briar's Book, so far the only other Circle book I've read that has Tris. She wants to help but her magic isn't suited for practical, particularly paid, tasks, but she finds her way in this book. My favorite aspect of this book is how well her character and her charges come together.

As with other books in the second series, The Circle Opens, Tris split from the core foster family at the mage home of The Winding Circle and travels with her main teacher. Her, the dog, and her instructor, Niklaren Goldeye, come to a Greek-ish city called Tharios. While Niko attends a long conference for vision mages, Tris explores the city and enjoys watching glass making. On one of her excursions she follows traces of magic being pulled to one particular glass maker who has no idea of his power. Turns out Keth has lightning as well as the ability to integrate magic into his glass. Lightning mages are rare, and Tris happens to be in town and is charged with instructing Keth.

Meanwhile, Tharios has a serial killer. The killer takes disreputable by class caste female dancers and displays their bodies in public. Some of these women Keth knows because he boards at the same cheap lodging. He wants to help, and his lightning glass orbs can show the future...if the lightning clears soon enough. He keeps making new orbs in hopes of one clearing soon enough to catch the killer. Tris oversees his improvement and tests her own ability to use wind to obtain information.

Shatterglass fascinated me despite my general indifference to crime novels. The dynamic between twenty-something-year-old Keth and fourteen-year-old Tris provides comedy. Characters that enter later and interact with both Tris and Keth show the emotional and dutiful depth of the main characters. Niko has intermittent appearances that are intense yet elicit chuckles and subtle enlightenment.

With The Circle Opens series I feel moderately estranged because the mentors, in other words the adults, don't help the conflict in the story. It's like they're indifferent to what happens to their foster children. Even though that's not technically the case, I'm prone to feel that way. The students become solely responsible. This leads to great bad ass climaxes but I miss the parental companionship and dislike the impermanence of the relationship. Tamora Pierce addresses this. There's a moment when Tris thinks Niko will leave her, but both are poor at sharing emotions and he affirms that she can't get rid of him. It's a sweet moment, and one of several.

However, the story comes full circle (pun!) in regard to mentorship, responsibilities, and overcoming struggles that were present even four years earlier in the previous series. That's good writing. ( )

I enjoyed The Circle of Magic Series but I think this series, The Circle Opens, is better. The chracters are more fleshed out and I find the stories more engaging. I always love the writing style of Tamora Pierce and this is no exception. As always these are a must read for me. ( )

As with many Tamora Pierce books, a social problem is taken on. The idea of classes is taken up in this book, not as the main storyline, but a literary device to move the story along. As always the characters can't help but be caught up in a internal social commentary as the story progresses. This is a good book to read along side Ancient India history as in many ways it mirror the caste system of that culture. It can produce some interesting classroom dialogue about how a society functions. And the bonus is that the storyline is riveting enough to keep the students engaged with the reading. ( )

My usual gripes about criminality in this series aside (and in the acknowledgements she does go into talking a little bit about her sources in terms of criminal justice techniques, especially about The Mind of the Pathological Criminal, so I was right, thank you everyone) this maybe was my favorite one? Though I am uh Wary of Fantasy India's Caste Systems (and the Chekov's lowest caste) but I am not super qualified to comment there.

All that said, I did love the character relationships; it feels like Tris's apprentice was so beautifully constructed to clash with her in the most perfect ways, and to watch her grow and appreciate her being Mean but also so deeply kind and determined to stick to her obligations. Keth was such a great foil, it was fun having some more disabled representation in the series, and the magic stuff was super cool to watch unfold. It made me want more with him, and I'm excited to see what happens in the next series! ( )