Flora Fyrdraaca, by Ysabeau S. Wilce
This is a great book! It's actually two books - Flora Segunda and Flora's Dare - in one volume. I suppose it's a sort of young adult fantasy. Flora Segunda Fyrdraaca ov Fyrdracca lives in a vaguely, what, seventeenth century Venice kind of world, Califa, where houses, a la Montagues and Capulets, are the chief social organization. No cars, but majick. Her mother is a general in the Califan army, but Califa is a "client state" of a ruling people, the Huitzls, whose soldiers are eagle-headed and human-bodies half breeds. Her best friend is the vain but loyal Udo, who is constantly reworking his kilts, hats and make-up to show off his good looks. Flora herself is about to reach her catercena, her fourteenth birthday celebration, after which she will go up to the Barracks to train for the army, as all Fyrdraacas do. But she doesn't want to do that; she wants to be a Ranger, like her heroine, Nini Mo. Flora is a wonderful character, full of grit and self-doubt and brutal honesty. How she solves the problem of her destiny is what makes this fascinating, detailed world so enjoyable to spend time in.