When I picked up this book my immediate hope was another saga that included Alanna and all my friends from the last book. Finding a completly different story was surprising, but not by any means unwelcome. I liked Sandry's Story and feel it has merit. It's a story about friendship and what friendship means, especially to those who feel like they're outsiders. I enjoy any good fantasy literature, whatever it's designated age, but to be truthful, this new series probably wasn't designed as much to satisfy veteran readers of Tamora as much as to reach a younger group of readers. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this new series.