Ratings99
Average rating4.1
If you can meet it halfway as a children's wish-fulfilment tale in which a moody tweenage girl can outwit numerous adults to get into the wrong school, befriend the king of thieves, and swordfight a demigod, then it's fine. The world and characters lack detail, the writing is basic, and the whole thing's a bit too cute and convenient. I enjoyed the training stuff the best. The climax is nonsense out of nowhere. All that said, there's something I fundamentally like here, and I gather Pierce's books get better. I'll check them out at some point.