Given to me at Christmas, Terrier earns a spot as one of the best books I ever read. Written by none other than Tamora Pierce, this intriguing page-turner captures many teens’ attention. This memorable story is about Beka Cooper, a rookie with the Provost’s Guard. The Provost’s Guard, also known as the Provost’s Dogs, patrol the different districts of Corus, the capital of Tortall. Cooper’s fellow “puppies,” as well as the veteran “dogs,” act surprised when she requests the Lower City. A tough place to patrol, the Lower City is filled with pickpockets, fights, robberies, and other lawbreakers. Beka will work with the most commendable Dogs in the entire Provost’s Guard, Mattes Tunstall and Clary Goodwin. Tough, clever, capable, and displeased about saddling a puppy for the first time in years definitely sum them up.

Soon enough, Beka and her Dogs hear of someone in the Lower City who “overturned the power structure of the underworld and terrorizes its citizens into submission and silence,” as described by Tamora Pierce herself. The only person able to help The Provost’s Guard discover the one causing so much brutality and pain is Beka. She possesses a magical listening talent, so exceptional that she hears murmurs in flocks of pigeons, words of the dead. But lucky for the Provost’s Guard and the multitude of people of the Lower City, their new puppy acts like “a true terrier!” I recommend this book for any teen girl who enjoys intriguing fantasy novels!