Wilce, FLORA'S DARE
Y.S. Wilce, Flora's Dare: ZOMG so good. Ummmm...most of what I loved was spoileriffic, and I really don't want to spoil, so, ummm...it's second in a series, and the world is really cool, it's an alternate California that is a client state of the Huitzals, nicknamed Birdies, who are alternate-world Aztecs. Also, Wilce has a really great prose style which I love.
Flora is the youngest child of a family of soldiers; her mother is a general, and her father was tortured by the Huitzils and is a wee bit shellshocked. Flora doesn't want to be regular army, she wants to be a Ranger, which is essentially a spy. Her idol is Nini Mo, the Coyote Queen, greatest ranger ever, and she religiously reads the yellowback novels depicting Nini Mo's adventures as well as Nini Mo's guidebook to ranger skills. Whenever she gets the chance, she practices her ranger skills, which get her into and out of scrapes. And it's much better than I can describe. Just read it.
I highly recommend this and the first book in the series, Flora Segunda.
Flora is the youngest child of a family of soldiers; her mother is a general, and her father was tortured by the Huitzils and is a wee bit shellshocked. Flora doesn't want to be regular army, she wants to be a Ranger, which is essentially a spy. Her idol is Nini Mo, the Coyote Queen, greatest ranger ever, and she religiously reads the yellowback novels depicting Nini Mo's adventures as well as Nini Mo's guidebook to ranger skills. Whenever she gets the chance, she practices her ranger skills, which get her into and out of scrapes. And it's much better than I can describe. Just read it.
I highly recommend this and the first book in the series, Flora Segunda.