Daja has been living with her friends at Winding Circle Temple for about four months now. After the death of her family and company of Traders died at sea, she was found by Niko and brought to the temple to learn how to use her magic. After an earthquake and the accident that bound her and her friends' magics together, strange things have been happening. Suddenly Daja who works with fire magics in her forge suddenly has iron growing like a plant; Briar magic with plants shot lightening into sand, frying the plants he was looking after, and made glass; and strange things have been happening to Tris and Sandry's magics as well. Not only can they talk to one another, but they also find that each others powers are leaking unexpectedly into their friends. They need to straighten their magics out and gain control as well as help the mountain village they've entered that's been struggling greatly with drought and wild fires and a group of Traders are in town reminding Daja of her old life but can't be a part of it because she is a trangshi (unlucky) and therefore an outcast of the Traders and in a way doesn't exist to them anymore.
This one has been my favorite book so far. It wasn't one I read before when I tried the Circle of Magic series before, but I've found I really enjoyed it. Daja does grow more with her magic and as a character I think more so than any of there other characters throughout the series so far. Being a trangshi, an outcast, she must learn to cope with this as she still yearns to be accepted by them though the Traders refuse. I like Daja's trades with the caravan and how it makes her questions harder the traditions of her people--along with the rest of the Trader caravan's ideas on tradition too. Instead of just going along with the people, understanding why those cultural traditions are good or bad and if they need to be changed--though change doesn't happen quickly.
I also like the background plot of the wild fires as well as the mountain city's mage vs Niko and other non-acidemia mages. It was an interesting critic and view on how some feel over shadowed by the "every day magics." I find it interesting because the "every day magic" is what Tamora based all of the kids' magic on: weaving, plants, smithing, and lightening/winds/whatever Tris' is. Yurrun Firetamer tries to show off and is prideful of what he and his father before him were able to do in keeping all the fires of the surrounding villages doused for years. His rivalry with Niko and distain for the students along with his lack of availability for criticism becomes his downfall in the end which causes things to go array.
All of the books so far have a feeling of "when we have time, remind me to teach you how to do this." Frostpine even says it plainly toward the end of the book, but I think each of the teachers have said it or a variation of it in each book throughout the series. These kids are doing much larger magic than anyone thought they would and these teachers haven't had the time enough to actually be able to sit down and teach their students much it seems. They have only been there four months, and the kids have to be led or saved a lot by their teachers because they get in too deep into something, though they have ended up saving the day eventually each time.
I'm looking forward to the next book. Audiobook at the moment with Tamora Pierce actually narrating the book, which makes it rather enjoyable.
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