Posted by Hello all, it’s time for another review of an SPFBO book, and next up for me was Tanna the Tendersword.
So, I was very nervous to start this book. I’m not even a huge fan of YA, let alone middle grade books. I often find them predictable, with larger than life characters, a plot that doesn’t make a lot of sense, and with a strong focus on unbelievable achievements by very young people. My suspension of disbelief is a constant battle with those sorts of things. That said, there are rare occasions where I do enjoy middle grade, and Tiffany Aching by Terry Pratchett is one of them. In the end, this book didn’t bomb as badly with me as I was worried it would, so there’s that.
We follow Tanna the Tendersword, and she’s looking to be sent on a quest to solidify her reputation and status as some kind of a hero. She has a companion with her who is supposed to chronicle her adventures and life story, he’s also a bit green and this will be his first real quest to chronicle. These two do not get along at all. She’s impulsive, loud, and a little obnoxious, while he’s much more on the cautious side of things. I do tend to enjoy odd couple pairings where the two main characters kind of are a foil for one another.
Tanna does get sent on a quest, she needs to go find this mushroom that’s been lost (or maybe stolen I can’t remember) who is crying off in the woods. This mushroom may have connection to Galdifort’s missing aunt, which is kind of the larger picture plot. Tanna has a guide for this journey, and it’s this ridiculous rooster. I liked the rooster, the rooster was cute and entertaining.
It’s unfortunate, but it took a long time for me to warm up to the characters, and even then, I didn’t quite get to the level of engagement that I would have liked. I think this is largely a personal taste thing as the foil dynamic between the two of them didn’t work for me as much as I had hoped it would. That said, Tanna is a spunky female lead in a middle grade, and I think that could strike the right resonance with many. I adore the Tiffany Aching books and wish I had been exposed to them earlier in my life (impossible because when they were released I was already out of the middle grade age) and although I wouldn’t quite say these are super similar characters, it’s in the same vein. I usually vibe with grumpy characters, I mean look who I named myself after <squints>, and I supposed I liked Galdifort more than Tanna. I’m not sure you’re supposed to feel that way though, lol.
This is a pretty short book, perhaps the shortest in the competition this year and it’s stacked alongside chonky beast-like books. I have to say I deeply appreciated that, lol. This coming from the judging team that put forward one of the longest this year, (potentially the longest, I’d have to go do a page count). I would say the pacing was really well done for a kid’s book, it would give you a little more and a little more to keep you engaged with the world building. For being a kid’s book, there wasn’t as much heavy handed info dumping about the world as I sometimes get with books tailored to a middle grade audience, so kudos there.
Humor is a very subjective thing, and in this book it was kind of hit or miss when it comes to my personal sense of humor. Some times it was cute and funny and I got a good chuckle. However, other times it either got under my skin or made me roll my eyes, lol. I can’t say I’m a good gauge to use when trying to decide whether a kid would like something or not. What I can say is that I can appreciate that this was aimed at someone who is not me and I think that they’d probably enjoy the parts I didn’t.
This is a very difficult book for me to rate as I’m not at all the target audience. I think the world building, writing, and pacing were all highlights for me. The characters and plot line didn’t quite do it for me, but I didn’t actively dislike it, either. I want to be clear I wasn’t hate reading this, as I can often do with middle grade. I’m giving it a 7/10 for SPFBO which is a solid 3.5/5 on Goodreads rounded to a 4. When Kristen has read and reviewed it I will add her score to my own, and our average will be the score for the board. So, for now, 7/10 is not the final score, but only half of the score.
I’d recommend this book to people who enjoy middle grade, or to give to someone in your life who’s middle grade aged and would want a spunky, well intentioned, female MC on her way to becoming a hero.