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Aug 23, 2008

Janice (Janicu) rated it:

Book #1 in the Glasswright series. I found this book a little bit hard to get into because I found Rani hopelessly naive and was getting frustrated that she managed to put herself into a terrible situation just by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I kept thinking: oh I dont think you should trust these people Rani. But I kept reading and after the first two chapters I got really caught up in hoping Rani would be able to survive and figure out the strange conspiracy around her. I also l More...

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Jan 08, 2012

Liz rated it:

This was such a struggle to read. The first book in this series is like a preview for the rest of them, wherein the heroine stumbles along from one dangerous situation to the next, escaping with her life and virtue not due to any talent or cunning of her own, but through sheer dumb luck. "Dumb" being the key word here, because she doesn't appear to possess any of this thing the rest of us know as common sense. She opens her mouth when it's obvious she, and everyone around her, would be More...

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Sep 21, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

A fantasy book encompassing mystery, murder, fantasy, familial and societal bonds. The main character is a 13 yr old girl named Rani Trader whose family has paid a hefty cost in order to gain her the potential for a higher caste. Catastrophe strikes when she is accused of murdering the prince and must find a way to clear her name and discover the true killer. In her dark adventure she discovers trust is a trickier thing than she ever thought and no one is who she thinks they are, not even her More...

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Apr 07, 2011

Denae rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 15, 2011

Pikachu rated it:

it's so hard to find fantasy series with strong female characters. tamora pierce does it excellently, and so does diana wynne jones. robin mckinley can be hit-or-miss, but at least she tries. the trouble is, since most high fantasy novels take place in a setting like medieval england, misogyny runs rampant.

as far as female characters go, rani is pretty likable. she's not one of those annoying uber women who throw their femininity in your face. she's fairly strong (albeit stupid), and More...

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Sep 11, 2010

Joshua rated it:

I've just finished The Glasswrights' Apprentice by Mindy Klasky and I have to say that I thought it was good. It's getting harder and harder to find fantasy books out there that aren't urban or paranormal. This one of those grand old medieval setting fantasy novels, although it's set in another land, not on earth in our own past.

The main idea is that Rani's family has gathered up enough money to send her to the Glasswrights' Guild, thus setting her a level higher in the caste syste More...

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Feb 04, 2011

Beth rated it:

I absolutely loved this series about an independent young woman who begins training for her dream career as a stained-glass artisan, only to have her hopes crushed by events beyond her control. Nothing can crush her spirit, though. As the series progresses, she becomes involved in the political power struggle of her country through a secret espionage organization, encountering many life-endangering situations. Rani also becomes friends with members of the royal family, complicating her life even More...

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Jun 07, 2011

Lilli rated it:

This book was a strong 3, almost 4 stars for me. I waffled between 3 and 4 and ended up going with 4 because I was impressed with Mindy Klasky's bravery when dealing with a 13-year-old girl's troubling life. She wasn't afraid to pull any punches. Rani, the relatively innocent main character, is pulled into events beyond her control, and she comes out the other side scarred and with blood on her own hands, which I thought was completely appropriate given the circumstances she was set up in.
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Jul 22, 2009

Nytetyger rated it:

This is book one of a new fantasy series. Rather dark, with the usual "female protagonist selected for some huge prophesy that will turn her world inside out, but make not just HER, but her WORLD better in the process" concept, but you are allowed, with the addition of a lot of different types of characters, to wonder whether or not our Heroine is really going to make things better, after all.

I just have one wish for those who write these books-- can you freaking PLEASE mak More...

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Dec 26, 2010

Corinne rated it:

I enjoyed the 1st part of the Glasswright series because Mindy Klasky created a fantastic world unlike no other that is featuring a class system reminding me of the indian Kaste system were everybody is born within a certain class/business system one cannot escape! Instead of the clothes or a sign on the forehead, the given name and it's number of syllabels indicates the class one is part of. Rani, the heroine is a 13-year-old girl and although she's the main character she mostly is pulled arou More...

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Sep 04, 2009

Julie rated it:

I picked it up to read again because I forgot how much I didn't enjoy it the first time. I actually picked up the whole series, so I thought I would give the other books a try to see if they were any better. Nope. The writing style is fine - it doesn't drag or anything. I just don't like the main character. I don't like how she thinks, her choices, her relationships, her assumptions, or basically anything about her. I also don't like the lack of accountability for your own actions in thes More...

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Jan 04, 2011

adventurat rated it:

I started this book in August, and only just finished it (January 4), and I have NO IDEA why I drifted away from it for four months, with less than half the book to go, because it was really good. How good? So good that, coming back to it four months on, all that I had read before came surging back into my memory, and I didn't have to read back before I read on.

This is fantasy the way I like it: a pre-industrial society with royalty, castes, rules, stratification, ideology, and every More...

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Aug 10, 2011

Mel added it

I waited a long time to get this book through the library (had to get it through inter-library loan from another library across the state). I love Mindy Klasky's Jane Madison and As You Wish series and so thought I'd love her older out of print Glasswright series. I was sorely disappointed. The scraps that Rani get herself into just seem over the top. I understand someone not getting break, especially if they're on the run, but I ended up just not caring. I ended up skimming the last half of the More...

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Oct 31, 2010

Terence rated it:

Disclaimer : This review entices the whole of the serie's, not so much a explanation of the storyline it self, but just my feelings of the books.

I consider myself a fairly tough guy in the general sense of things, and not many books really manage to touch me in a really emotional way that give u the feeling of kinship with the character your reading about. This serie's however had me in tears a few moments during the reading sessions, the concept of the glasswright as a profession was More...

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Mar 17, 2009

Hilary rated it:

I devoured this book and immediately obtained the rest of this series. This promising debut novel has a well-developed setting -- a necessity for fantasy readers who like to buy-in on the society the characters move through (Pern fans, take note). No dragons -- but the caste system is believable and the pace picks up rapidly after the opening chapters.

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Jan 17, 2010

Shanrina rated it:

I thought that Klasky came up with a really interesting story, but I didn't like the main character very much. Sometimes it felt like she did things just because the plot demanded them of her rather than because it would have actually been in character for her to do so. I really liked all of the intrigue, though.

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Jul 19, 2010

Melissa rated it:

I found this book rather tantalizing. It not only had action, adventure and love, it also gave you something to think about. Rani Trader has grown up in a town where everyone has their own group and their own classification. Everyone usually stays within that class and doesn't mingle with the others. But Rani is put in a situation in which she will have to pretend she is in all the classes at one time or another. She finds that even though what she has been told, everyone is somewhat the same no More...

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Oct 23, 2008

Donna rated it:

An unlucky apprentice finds herself hunted after she's connected with the assassination of a prince. She takes on many roles while trying to unravel the mystery and clear her name. The setting is an interesting world with good details, and Rani is easy to like despite some of the poor decisions she makes.

I got a little tired of her bouncing around between different groups though. It made the pace feel a bit tiring, and it made it tough to get a sense of most of the side characters.
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Aug 06, 2009

Gloriavirtutisumbra rated it:

Interesting idea, the plot and characters jump around faster than a perils of pauline silent film, but would be an excellent book to recommend to the young fantasy reader as another series to try.

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Dec 25, 2011

Brewergnome rated it:

A passable series. The first books are intriguing, but as things progress I found the main character far too whiny and irritating to enjoy the books as much as I might have.

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Sep 08, 2010

Bradley rated it:

A refreshing breath of fresh air. Not a lot of magic but full of dynamic and believable characters. I enjoyed this story and found all the plottwists amusing. A decent read. =)

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Jul 27, 2011

Jayne added it

Rani Trader becomes embroiled in an intrigue against the king. Who can she trust, when no-one is who they seem to be?

Not a bad story.

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Feb 10, 2012

Sarah rated it:

Amazing fantasy novel. Loved it! Read my full review at http://www.dreamworldbooks.com/2012/02/g...

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Jul 27, 2011

Allison rated it:

Good book. Rani was a character you could really feel for. She lost so much and had tough choices to make.

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Jan 08, 2010

Natalie rated it:

Would be lower, but I couldn't really tell who was good and who was bad, so erring on the side of a 3.

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Jul 27, 2011

Ubalstecha rated it:

An okay book. It takes a little suspension disbelief for the plot to work, but still entertaining.

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Oct 13, 2011

Emily added it

This book was a very well written book that kept me intrigued the whole time. The message that you can be whoever you want to be and that you dont have to be tied down by what others say you are was conveyed by the author in a way that was much more subtle yet interesting so that the reader had to think a little after reading it. Its a great read for anyone who likes fantasy but is also a great read for the people who like to find life lessons in the books that they read.

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Jul 07, 2010

Sheila rated it:

Wow! Excellent book. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series.

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Dec 12, 2010

Sheri rated it:

Boring.

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Sep 08, 2011

Janie rated it:

This book was awesome. Kept me engrossed all the way through. I could never remember the authors name though so I could read the other books. But now I can find it easily.

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