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Melting Stones (Circle Reforged) | 
 enlarge | Author: Tamora Pierce
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $10.45
You Save: $7.54 (42%)
New (23) Used (6) Collectible (1) from $10.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 16013
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0545052645
EAN: 9780545052641
ASIN: 0545052645
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: A Brand-New, unused unread copy in perfect condition
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Product Description
Four years have passed since Evvy left the streets of Chammur to begin her training as a stone mage. At fourteen, she's unhappy to be on a new journey with her mentor, prickly green mage Rosethorn, who has been called to the Battle Islands to determine why the plants and animals there are dying. Evvy's job is to listen and learn, but she can't keep quiet and do nothing. With the help of Luvo, the living stone heart of a mountain, Evvy uncovers an important clue. Now, with the island on the brink of disaster, it's up to Evvy to avert the destruction that looms ahead.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Rushed for full-cast audio? January 3, 2009
Tamora Pierce's latest novel was one that I could have waited longer for. TP is my favorite author, and with every new release I have a huge itch of anticipation. Unfortunatly, Melting Stones seems as if it was written to promote full-cast audio.
I finally picked up the cd's from my local library a few months after they were released, when I popped those disks into my player, I heard mediocre reading and a superbly unintricate plot line. With Pierce's previous books one could read and re-read the books, and pick out something new everytime. Melting STones is so linear and un-complex, listining to it once was enough for me.
The only reason I suggest picking this book up is if you are a diehard fan and would like to learn more about the friend of evvy's, Luvo, that TP mentioned in Will of the Emperess.
MY ADVICE - If you would like to read/listen to this book, BUY THE ACTUAL PRINT. I can't bring myself to buy this book because everytime I read it, the ridiculous voices pop up in my head.
 Audio definately better then the written December 15, 2008
I'm a huge fan of Tamora Pierce and have been reading her for, well, close to 20 years now. This is the first book that I wasn't wild about. The book itself just never drew me in. Now, I started listening to the audio book today and that's a whole different story. I know Tammy was inspired to write the book by Grace's voice and I can see why. Grace does a great job reading. This is one book that I highly recommend listening to the audio book of rather than reading the actual book.
Dissappointing December 2, 2008
I've been a fan of Tamora Pierce for a Very, Very long time. I would even credit her with my love of reading, since I didn't like to read before I picked up her Immortal series. But this book was horrid! It was predictable, boring, mean, and just plan bad! I love Tamora don't get me wrong, but if her books continue this trend, I may be borrowing them from the library rather than buying them.
I'm sorry TP but you've done MUCH better.
 ok November 22, 2008
The book is in great condition and I am very pleased with it. However it took forever for it to arrive. Always when I've ordered used books they came in within a week not two and a half. I'm not saying it did not come in within the time period amazon predicted, but it was cutting it very close.
 An enjoyable venture into the realization that we must work with nature in order to enjoy living with it November 18, 2008
Author Tamora Pierce is notable for stretching the possibility of just about everything while serving up a great adventure at the same time. She does not disappoint with her new title, MELTING STONES, where the experiences of 14-year-old Evvy, stone-mage-in-training, attempt to teach her to trust people --- not all people, but some. Her hectic life as a young slave sold by her mother in the land of Yanjing and then as an orphan surviving on her own have made Evvy somewhat crispy around the edges. Her friends of intentional choice are cats and, of course, stones and rocks of all shapes, sizes and kinds.
Evvy's life of beatings, deprivation and war has given her a temper along with her distrust of people. Her inability to rein in her desire to pummel anybody who challenges her continually causes trouble. Beating a group of other trainee mages at Winding Circle Temple has placed her in the position of either sailing across the sea (which she hates) to a distressed island or being punished at Winding Circle. Her guardian Rosethorn thinks Evvy might come in handy, so she is a passenger on the ship before she knows it.
As a stone mage, Evvy has the power to communicate, understand, and use rocks for purposes such as stopping a giant boulder in mid-air before it smashes her and her companions. Her talents reach beyond the fanciful as she is also empowered with a special trance ability, which allows her to send her spirit deep into the levels of the earth accessible only to stone mages. Evvy uses this soul-draining talent to help those in need when she accompanies Dedicate Rosethorn and Dedicate Myrrhtide (whom Evvy has nicknamed "Dedicate Fusspot" because his nitpicking annoys her) on a mission to rescue the dying plants and waters on the island of Starns.
Evvy isn't aware that she will be the one mage to whom island residents turn for help. Her problem with being a stone mage is that she doesn't appreciate people enough to save them from anything. For all she cares, a few less meeting-holding, talk-too-much "meat creatures" disguised as humans would suit her just fine. As long as she has rocks to collect and draw strength, power and knowledge from, she doesn't need people.
Pierce's choice to write Evvy's story in first person may disconcert the traditional reader who thinks fiction should be an omniscient, vicarious experience. But in the compulsive turn of a few pages, anyone will be captivated by the mystery and the cheeky young mage. Sharp-tongued and endowed with a dry wit, she is accompanied by a great friend and teacher, who is also another stretch of the imagination. Luvo, the "heart of a mountain," is a wisdom-spouting guru sort of character carried around in a cloth sling. He can walk, but his legs are too stumpy to get anywhere quickly, so Evvy carries him over her shoulder. Luvo is the talking rock equivalent of Jedi Master Yoda as he tempers Evvy's wildness with stories, guidance and challenges designed to help her grow.
When Evvy uncovers what is threatening the island's survival, even Luvo bows to her powers and intuition as she carries out a plan to help the people avoid sure devastation. Of course, there are islanders who don't believe a smirky 14-year-old knows what she's doing, and Evvy doesn't care if the earth's destructive powers eat them whole. Along the way, however, she has come to care about what happens to the orphaned and foster children of Starns Island. That is who Evvy tests her strength for and that is who she saves.
For readers willing to suspend reality and take a chance on believing that rocks, trees, animals and water have spirits worth respecting, MELTING STONES is an enjoyable venture into the realization that we must work with nature in order to enjoy living with it.
--- Reviewed by Joy Held
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