Magic Study by Maria Snyder

Snyder, Maria V. Magic Study, 443 p. Mira Books, 2006. Content: PG-13 (several mentions, but not descritptions, of past torture and rape). $9.99. Yelena has been exiled to Sitia with Fourth Magician Irys, who is more than happy to reunite Yelena with her family, but insists that she come swiftly along to the Sitian capital for further magic training. Distrust from her own brother, capture and near death at the hands of a seceret Ixtian proclaimer to the Commander’s throne, another life-threatening scene at the hands of the very magicians who are supposed to train Yelena’s rogue powers, and an evil magician who is killing young girls to suck the power out of them all conspire to make Yelena’s first few weeks in Sitia a dangerous mess. Yelena will need all of training in order to come out of here alive. These books are a wonderful addition to a high school level collection where fantasy is always in high demand. I would not recommend this at the middle school level, just because of the nature of the discussion in the first book in the series. HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library-Teacher