Tamora Pierce

Eleven-year-old Alanna, who aspires to be a knight even though she is a girl, disguises herself as a boy to become a royal page and learns many hard lessons along her path to high adventure.

Song of the Lioness: Book 1

Alanna: The First Adventure

Becoming a legend is not easy, as young Alanna of Trebond discovers when she disguises herself as a boy and begins training to be a knight. Alanna's skills and stubborness help her befriend Prince Jonathan and alienate his evil uncle, Duke Roger. Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, this book is a rousing introduction to the intensely satisfying story of Alanna.

Monicap

This is me, fangirling ALL OVER George Cooper.

"From now on I'm Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I'll be a knight." And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Disguised as a girl, Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page. But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies. Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's first adventure begins -- one that will leard to the fulfillment of her dreams and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land. Alanna's journey continues...

Sarah Sammis

Sunny

A sweet, easy read story that had me hooked from the get go. 
I love how strong and brave Alanna is and I can definitely understand how younger readers would view her as an inspiring figure they'd love to be like. Her relationship with her brother is a true and honest one, which is something I highly highly appreciate. I love how she's impulsive and hot-headed, she doesn't take any crap and stands her ground, all with the message "I am as good, and occasionally better, than the boys" without being too forceful or belittling, which is an excellent thing to convey to younger beans. 
Though, something I was slightly iffy on was that Alanna was completely blinded when it came to how much her friends care about her, and while the affirmation made for sweet moments and it was a good representation of her bull-headedness, most often to me, it came across as an uncertain little girl blinded to how much she was actually worth.

Also, while I didn't particularly like the simplicity of the names she gave (i.e. Moonlight and Lightning), it is very well representative of the mindset of a little girl. My little cousin is exactly the same, and seeing Alanna's swift decision to name something based on their physical appearance or abilities made me smile every time. 

The world building was kind of minor, for now it's a typical medieval Europe setting (initially), which I grant is easy to get into. The reader is taken to a few places and began to be introduced to the Old Ones and the Gods, and I love a world with a complete history and lore, so I'm very excited to learn more about Tortall!
I think my favourite part was when they travelled to the desert and were introduced to the Bhazir. I was pleasantly surprised about the diversity introduced, even if it was a little later into the book and I think I was even more intrigued to learn about their histories and stories too. 

There were areas of the story that seemed a little rushed and that some things were brushed over. Of course I don't expect a minute-by-minute description of their training or the long rides they took, but there seemed to be quite a few instances of "this happened, now it's wrapped up, let's move on" with not too much fanfare or reflection. Though, I will say that this definitely aided the pacing and I can see that this would keep younger readers engaged and eager to continue on.

The writing is excellent. There's not really any other way to say it. It is easy to follow, and very easily conjures up an image of what's going on in the story. It's fast paced and engaging, and even in a semi-reading slump I could just sit and charge through pages and pages at a time, no problem. And when I had to put it down, it was reluctantly because I had adult things to do, but in every free moment I was busting out my Kindle to get in the next few pages. (Has Tamora Pierce cured me of my slump? I think maybe so!) 

There is also the scene where Alanna starts her period, and this was handled so perfectly and I appreciate its inclusion and presentation greatly. Alanna being mainly raised around males who would obviously let such a detail about growing up slip their minds, made sense. Alanna reflected that yes, once or twice Maude had mentioned such a thing, but being a little girl who saw Maude infrequently for lessons, of course it wouldn't stick in her mind, this too made sense. And her panic and frantic consideration of what to do, who to trust was also an excellent portrayal. This moment where she decides that George, the most prolific "King" of thieves in the city, is the best to trust with her secret is also a sweet moment that really demonstrates that sometimes, you can trust your gut instinct as well as the people around you. 

Overall, there was a lot I loved and appreciated about this book. So while this is a book I've thoroughly enjoyed, I'm still a little bitter that it's taken me so long to get my hands on it and read it. Granted, this is entirely my fault and has no impact on my rating, I just wish a little Shannon could have grown up with Alanna! If only so I could have read more, if not all of Tamora Pierce's books by now. 
This is definitely a book I'll be sharing with my little cousin when she's big enough 😊

Zahra

4.5 stars

A solid first book and a great introduction to the fantasy world of Tortall. I need to get my hands on the next book ASAP!

Meagan Fischer 

Was shocked by how terrible the writing in this first series is, given how much I liked her later series, Protector of the Small. One issue was bad pacing. Another was a lack of foreshadowing of key plot points. Usually when there is a reveal of some mystery at the end of a story, you get that "Oh! I should have seen that coming!" moment. But in this story, that doesn't happen, because there were no clues ahead of time. It makes the characters' actions along the way seem nonsensical.

A fun jaunt into fantasy for young adults 

Mike M

Ivy X

[Reread third time] 

Quotes: 
-..."I wish you would thrash him. He deserves it." 
She looked back at him. "I will one day, sir. I'm getting tired of falling down."

Jessica Lynn

Ashley Wendt

It’s nice reading a medieval fantasy that isn’t over written and bogged down by excessive world building. I do think it’s a great start to a series. I picked up book 2 already to continue Alanna’s adventure.

mevi

*2nd time reading*
I still adore this book even after all these years. The only con is that I wished they explored the ending a bit more because it feels rushed.


-------------
Read the whole series in middle school. It's one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.

Sara Bean Duncan

This is the book that started my love for fantasy novels. Returning to it is like catching up with an old friend.

Lauren Sullivan

For CBR’s white whale challenge, I’m going way back in the time machine to a book that’s been on my TBR (eventually) list since I was in middle school. Tamora Pierce’s work, especially her Alanna books, were often recommended as a read-alike to Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, which was a hugely formative book for me a kid, mainly I guess because both were books by women starring heroines with swords. For whatever reason, my local library didn’t carry it so I gorged myself on more McKinley, Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. LeGuin instead. But while reading The Thief for another challenge, this book popped up on the “also read” list, so I decided to finally tackle it. And, well, let’s just say I wish I had read it back then instead of now.

“She would show everyone—including that part of her that was always wondering—that she was as good as any boy in the palace.”

Faced with being sent to a convent to learn magic, Alanna switches places with her twin and goes to learn all the ins and outs of knighthood as “Alan of Trebond,” as girls aren’t permitted to be knights. In other words, it’s a girl-must-dress-a-boy-to-be-a-warrior fantasy book, complete with a vaguely medieval kingdom (with bonus magic! and gods!) and a very transparent villain. While that all sounds pretty basic, back then I’m sure this was absolutely groundbreaking, and, let’s be honest, not a whole lot of books published in the early eighties probably hold up that well. The chivalry stuff in particular rubbed me the wrong way, and that’s not even getting into the whole Bazhir eek-face (which, in all honestly, The Blue Sword suffers from, too). The book also glosses over huge chunks of things in order to fit two year’s worth of training into a small amount of pages. The last chapter especially suffers from this, with a huge battle that’s resolved very quickly and then the book ends without dealing with the aftermath! It almost feels more of a series of vignettes than anything else. The writing itself, though, is superb, and each individual section is full of adventure, even if it’s only defeating a bully.

“Alan, you seem to think we won’t like you unless you do things just like everyone else. Have you ever thought we might like you because you’re different?”

And I absolutely loved Alanna! She’s stubborn and so focused on her goal, but she still has so many doubts about whether she’ll be able to achieve it. I respected her fierce independence while simultaneously wishing she’d let her friends help her for once. And those friendships were seriously the best part of the books! I loved how she navigated her relationships with the other pages, and then, of course, there’s George, who I alternately loved and thought was a stalker creep. Another refreshing bit is that unlike her twin, she’d rather be out practicing in the rain than stuck inside with a book. She’s much more of a doer than a thinker, and not particularly in touch with her emotions, on top of that.

Overall, I think tween me would’ve gobbled this book up with giant heart-eyes. At that age, I had already started to be interested in tech and was keenly aware that, as a girl, I would always be treated differently. Today, though, it feels a bit simplistic and flat, though still a fun read.

Content notes: (view spoiler)[misogyny, bullying, violence, racism (hide spoiler)]

Katarina Rose Watson

This book is freaking amazing. I just love it so much. Alanna is one of the few main characters that I actually love as much as the side characters. She is such a badass and I adore her.

Nora Reisenberger

This is a fantasy book like no other. Although it may have been originally published in the early 80’s it holds up through the trials of time. To this day the Lioness Quartett are amongst my favorite books of all time - well of my life, as far as I can tell.

In Alanna we have a headstrong young girl who doesn’t let her birth dictate her life. Set to become a lady she swiftly switches places with her twin brother and instead starts her training to become a knight to the kingdom of Tortall.

Faced with both the usual hardships of page-hood and the need to conceal her true identity she struggles to keep up (and surpass) the boys, make friends (and enemies), navigate her way around being a woman and saving prince Jonathan on multiple occasions.

Filled with humor, magic and adventure this is a book I was very glad to read as a girl, teenager and to this day, time and time again.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy, adventures or even “just” well written, empowered female characters.

(✨And the sequels continue this trend. 😌👌🏻✨)

laura

Very good read. I loved meeting all the new characters and exploring the world. Some of the Villan stuff was a tad obvious but i overall love it.

Christina M Masters

I am so sad I didn't start these books years ago!

Justine Rose

Melissa Eder

I'm kinda hesitant to give this 4 or 5 stars, I definitely enjoyed this a lot and Alanna was awesome, but there were a few things that bothered me a tiny bit. It's a charming story tho and I'll continue the series!

Amber Laha

Melea Mullican

Mahasin S Ameen

Reading this book at 29 makes me sad I didn't read it at 9. There's a major disadvantage to being an advanced reader so early and one of them is missing out on quality children's books.

Alanna is everything you'd want and expect from a female protagonist- she's strong- willed and determined. I really love that she was not a natural swords(wo)man (when it's all- too common in fiction to have a "chosen one" who is naturally perfect at everything) and she persevered, earning the admiration of her peers. 
Although I loved this book, I'm not sure it really needed a series but I'll reread them anyway. This is a book that I hadn't read since I was 12, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found that I could enjoy it again.

Lisa Beasley

This is the second time I've read this book and I enjoyed it just as much. I love Alanna as a character and love her interactions with her friends. The last third of the book gets intense and is resolved perhaps a little quickly but is also set up for the following books. Looking forward to the next one.

Liz Griffin

If I evaluate this novel as a middle grade, I actually enjoyed it. And I’m trying to be honest with myself about why I feel like critiquing the things I want to critique. Are they the sorts of things that a male protagonist would get away with, nobody batting an eye? Yes, yes they are.

Also keeping in mind that this novel came out in the 80s, so things that might seem cliche now… this novel did them before the things became cliche in our over saturated market.

Overall, a fairly standard Medieval-type fantasy novel. Girl in disguise as a boy training to become a page -> squire -> knight. The magic seemed kinda iffy and vague. But I liked a lot of characters, especially George the thief, Prince Jonathan, and Alanna’s companion from home. 

I imagine it would resonate well with middle grade and the young edge of YA readers.

Alanna: The First Adventure Song of the Lioness: Book 1

Reviews