As it turns out, this is a book that I'll certainly return to from time to time. It's two novels compiled into one volume. The story is about Rowan, a steerswoman, which, in this world, means that she is someone who asks questions and finds things out. What a cool job! She travels around, and people ask her things, and she asks them things, and it leads her on adventures. That's what I want to do!
Anyway, she and her companion, Bel, start asking some questions that a mysterious wizard doesn't want them to ask, and it leads them all over the known, and into parts of the unknown, world. It's not advanced literature, but the characters are neat, slightly idealized, but not beyond belief, and the story is compelling.
The one negative is that it turns out that the story is not finished in two books. The good news is that the third and, I hope, final book comes out next month. Can't wait!