sonia | Yuletide story recs - making connections, and using magic responsibly

nomadicwriter in The Tiffany Aching Series - Terry Pratchett. "The old people called the biggest flints 'calkins', which meant 'chalk children'." Sweet and wry and pitch-perfect.

What Wizards Do by

Miss_M in In the Forests of Serre - Patricia A. McKillip. “I’m just a scribe.” “You are not ‘just’ anything, Euan Ash.” A quiet story about home and taking care, that is also about magic and power.

Voices from Between the Stars by

Dolorosa in The Forgotten Beasts of Eld - Patricia A. McKillip. "The Liralen was not the first legendary beast that Sybel tried to call." A fitting prequel to what was my favorite book for a long time.

A Single Thread by

Cyphomandra in The Melendy Quartet - Elizabeth Enright. "Then there were four." The Melendy family - with magic! A story about repaired connections.

The Unseen Connections by

sandalwoodbox in Steerswoman Series - Rosemary Kirstein. "Rowan was supposed to be working with her fellow steerswomen to figure out how one star could become four and then one again – so why couldn't she stop thinking about those elderly women in Donner, and what a lovely couple they were? And when will she see Bel again?" Rowan applies her Steerswoman skills to a gap in her worldview.

Secret Ingredients by

foxinthestars in ハクメイとミコチ | Hakumei and Mikochi (Anime). "Sometimes a mysterious extra something makes all the difference." Lovely fine details of friendship and artisanship. (Had to look up an alternative for the gendered "craftsmanship.")

A Hatching at Half-Circle Sea Hold by

Edonohana in Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey. A lovely trauma-resolution story branching from Dragonsinger. Menolly returns to Half-Circle Sea Hold bearing agents of change. I like how several of the young people in the story step forward when they see opportunities to make the changes they want in their lives.

The Colors of Lorbanery by

Edonohana in Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin. "The woman who had once been Akaren stayed inside her house for several days, changing." Awakening from despair.