STREET MAGIC (Tamora Pierce)

Synopsis of "Street Magic",second book of "The Circle Opens" by Tamora Pierce: Former "street rat" Briar Moss must face his past when he discovers a young mage in need of a mentor.

It has been four years since Briar Moss began his training as a plant mage, but he still has not put his past behind him. Wandering through a market, Briar discovers a street girl using powerful magic to polish stones for a merchant. The ragged girl reminds him of the life he used to live, before he left for Winding Circle, so Briar resolves to find her a teacher. Unfortunately, Briar understands the city's gangs as well as he understands Evvy, the young mage. When gang warfare breaks out in the city, Briar feels sympathy for those caught in the crossfire, and seeks to heal them. Then he discovers the fiercest gang is seeking a stone mage, and looking to recruit Evvy. In order to protect the girl from the gang world, he will have to decide if he is ready to become a teacher himself, and if he is ready to take the final steps from his life as a street rat.