Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

 Tress lives as a window washer on an island surrounded by a green sea of spores. Her best friend, Charlie, is the son of a duke who pretends to be a gardener.  Her home is not perfect but she is content, until one day the Duke sees Tress and Charlie together and fears they are falling in love. The Duke whisks Charlie away to find him a royal bride, but when the Duke returns, he reports that Charlie has been taken by the Sorceress of the Black Sea. Although timid and polite, Tress decides she must try to rescue Charlie. She stows away on a ship and then falls in with some pirates. Faced with challenges including a cruel captain, dangerous spores, and mutinous shipmates, Tress gradually changes from a timid maiden to a force to be reconned with. 

Brandon Sanderson is hugely popular and successful as an author, and I am a little embarrassed to admit that up until this week I had only read his Alcatraz series. When this book came out with his four secret books that he wrote during the pandemic, I decided it would be a good first to try of his books written for teens-adults.  It was a lot of fun, and had a little of the same flavor as the Alcatraz series.  There was a big dose of silliness, and quite a bit of philosophizing, but that just made it more entertaining. The characters were diverse and interesting and the world and magic system were totally original. There were some characters in the book that were clearly from other books he had written in the same literary universe, and I felt a little adrift because I didn't know their backstory. He did include enough information that it didn't ruin the story not to know where they came from. My daughter assures me that some of his books from the Cosmere are more serious and gritty than this one.  Maybe some day I will read them.  As for now I am well pleased with this first taste of the Sanderson legacy.  (384 p. 2023)