Customer Reviews

Alanna, the First Adventure (Song of the Lioness)

5 star:		(525)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Hi so my name's Michaela and I'm 15. I read the first two books in 6th grade when I picked them up at my school library, and the other two shorty after at borders. I loved them, and I'm tired of reading all the reviews about the mothers who think these books are inappropriate for their daughters because they "do it". Children have "the talk" in 5th grade. They know how babies are made. These book aren't explicit at all and just sort of mention it in passing and in all honesty if I didn't understand what was going on than it probably would have gone right over my head. My mother was not upset by me reading these books because she trusts my reading choices. I reread this series all the time and as I get older I find more to love about it. Please, don't keep your daughters (or sons) from reading this amazing series because you're worried about nothing.

I must have read these four novels by Tamora Pierce at least eight times. I loved them growing up and I love them still, although I am not nearly so pleased with her more recent work. I'm glad that she is successful but the quality seems to have sharply fallen off.

Anyway, this series is about a ten yr old girl named Alanna and her twin brother Thom who are being sent away to be educated. Thom is meant to become a knight and Alanna to go to a convent school. Neither twin is happy with the situation so they forge new letters of introduction from their father and Thom goes off to the convent/monastery to learn to become a Mage and Alanna is disguised as "Alan" and goes to the castle to become a knight.

The books follow her adventures while at school then after she is ordained and they are so engaging and wonderful with many memorable characters not to mention a strong female role model. I reccommend this series to anyone, but most especially anyone with a ten yr old daughter who might fall in love with these books the way I did.

I was first introduced to this book in third grade by someone who was babysitting me. By fourth grade I had read the whole series a number of times. I don't know if I would say this one or the last one was my favorite, but both were great. You can imagine the characters are real, and the same goes to the world they live in. I still love these books, but now I'm in eighth grade. I see all these adults who have read these books, and I think it is great! I can read these over and over and over and not get bored, even though I know exactly what is going to happen and when. I doubt they will ever get boring, thank God. I'll always have a good book to read! I recommend reading the whole series, along with the Wild Magic series, after you read this book, to find out all that happens to Alanna. I havn't read her new series yet, I think I'll wait for it to come out in paper back. I don't know if I'm ready to read something by her that isn't somehow related to the magical world of Tortall and Alanna! Well anyway, this is an excellent book, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes reading even a little bit, and especially to girls. I don't think this is really a guy book...

She's brave, she wants to be a knight and she has very strong powers with the Gift. Who is she? Alanna! Alanna must use her skills and test her bravery to save her Prince and and earn her shield. Whether she's fighting a fellow page or ancient monsters, Alanna's got what it takes!

I loved this book, and I recommend it to everyone. If you like this book, be sure to read 'In the Hand of the Goddess', the second book in the 'Song of the Lioness' Quartet.

I love all of Ms. Pierce's books especially 'In the Hand of the Goddess' and In the Relms of the Gods' (The 4th book in the Immortals Quartet)

Please read all of them!

I first came across this book when I was fourteen or so. I'm 20 now, but this book and all of the others by Tamora Pierce are still among my favorites.

Some people have complained about the romance in the later books being "disgusting", and the characters a little shallow. For those who complained about romance, grow up. Romance is part of life, so deal with it. It's not like the sex is ever explicit, just sort of hinted at. And as for "shallow" characters, when you're trying to fit four years into one book, you can't really go on endlessly about feelings and such, can you?

Besides, they only seem shallow the first time around. I've read the books at least 6 times each, and everything seems much deeper every time. You have to read between the lines for a lot of the character development: how they react to certain situations, and how it would have been different in an earlier book.

Also, the books teach a lot without you realizing it. Things like not giving up, going for your dreams and that just because someone says you can't do something doesn't make it true, for example.

My favorite type of books is fantasy all because of this book. Three years ago, when I was in sixth grade, a friend saw me reading "The Woman who Rides Like a Man" over his shoulder (that's the third book in this series), and the next day he brought this book in to school and told me to read it in study hall. I loved it, and borrowed it and took it home where I finished it that night. I then went out and bought the rest of the series. The book is great, with a little resemblence to "Twelfth Night" (no, if you haven't heard of it, it's not a fantasy book. It's a play by Shakespeare. Sorry.) Alanna and her brother switch places, forcing her to disguise herself as a boy (luckily, her brother, Thom, does not have to disguise himself as a girl.) During the beginning of the book, Alanna tries to reject her powerful magical ability. However, she is forced to use it twice, and realizes that her "Gift" is a blessing from the gods, not a curse from them. Meanwhile, Alanna has to train as a knight. She is shorter than the other boys, and has more trouble, at first. But she works hard to overcome her height disadvantage (not by using magic to make herself grow; she tried that once and got a bad headache), and, while beating all the other boys at knighthood, Alanna still has to deal with issues of womanhood. And what will happen when she becomes a knight? She can't be a "boy" forever!

Review: These books are my comfort books. In fact, all of the Tamora Pierce books from the Tortall series' are in that category. This is the first of Pierce's quartets ever published, starting with Alanna: The First Adventure. They all have a very strong female protagonist, who takes her destiny head-on and finds a way to train as a knight, even though such a thing is only for boys and men. She is a lovable, and tough character, who is very full of honor, pride, and hard work/determination. She goes through her moments of confusion, especially in times where she is out of control, but it never stops her for long. It's just enough to add a dynamic and believable honesty to her character. In addition to the typical high fantasy (medieval-style) world created for Alanna to fight in, the book also includes her struggle to learn, control, and use magic - the Gift - a talent that is somewhat common, though it manifests itself in different ways with each person. It is a story of adventure and magic that I just keep coming back to.

Recommendation: This should probably mainly be read by kids/young adults. While I have known people who read them only when they were older, they generally only ever liked the books, not loved them. As I re-read them now, I do notice the lack of development in the writing style and story lines - but I still love them, because I have loved them for a long time. They are generally appropriate for middle school students.
--Note that I say "middle school", because there is some confusion about menstrual cycles and sex. Nothing is very explicit, and all of it is done in a very naive sort of way, since Alanna doesn't understand much about womanly things. However, there are some parents who wouldn't think such things were appropriate for their little girls until at least middle school - if you make them wait until high school, however, they probably will miss out on the wonderfulness of the tale and the great values that are displayed. Personally, I read these in 6th grade.

Here are the other books in this wonderful quartet, in order:
#2: In the Hand of the Goddess (The Song of the Lioness)
#3: The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (The Song of the Lioness)
#4: Lioness Rampant (The Song of the Lioness)

This series of 4 books was the best series I have ever read.The whole series is wonderful.The 3rd book is a little boring but still a good book.I loved how these books had romance,action,comedy,and were even sad at times. Once I started readig the first book I couldn't put it down.I loved how Alanna wanted to be a knight. This book opened up a whole new fanasy world for me. Alanna is the main character in this book.She and her brother Thom switch places,she goes to knight training and he goes to become a wizard and learn magic.Alanna meets bullies and even falls in love with Prince Jonathon of Tortall.And this whole time she is pretending to be a boy(Jonathon of course knows that she is a girl).She comes across problems with hiding her identity but she succeeds for the years of training. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy.I loved how these books made the girl the strong one and had her be the hero.Alanna is a good role model because she is strong and sticks with her decisions.I know that these books definetely encouraged me to be strong and has many of my friends.SO READ THIS BOOK!IT IS EXELLENT!

This is an excellent book for those who have a adventurous mind. I have just bought this book several days ago and within a couple of hours, I had finished this book. Now, I have finished reading this book 3 times. If you are a person who likes adventures, and magic, then this is the book for you.

This is about a girl named Alanna and she is twins with her brother Thom. Alanna doesn't want to be taught how to be a lady but to become the famous maiden-warrior and do great deeds for people,and Thom doesn't want to be a knight and get hurt but instead he wants to be a sorcerer and walk with the gods. So they decided to switch places. She dresses as a boy and goes to the palace.

At the beginning, she is bullied by a boy named Ralon and he is from Malven. But she showed him at the end. Later, she learns and becomes the best of the other pages in archery, swordfighting, fencing, horseback, and not to mention she is also a good student. She also saved her good friend Jonathon, the heir to the throne, a couple of times in what looked like certain death from demons and from his evil cousin, Duke Roger who wants to take over the throne.

This is so far the best book I have read in a very long time. I have read almost ALL the fanasty novels by famous writers and Tamora Pierce is one of the BEST writers of all and Alanna: the First Adventure, is a great book!

This book is an epic story about a young girl named Alanna, who dresses up like a boy to make her dreams come true. Knowing the punishment is harsh, Alanna conjures up the courage to chop off her hair and switch places with her twin brother. Her one and only goal is to become a knight and do good deeds. Not wanting to accept the Gift the Gods gave her at birth, the Gift to heal, she is told she must use it in order to please the Gods. As her brother Thom goes off to learn sorcery, Alanna takes the risk of her life and prays that her seceret about being a girl is safe with her and her inmate, Coram. As the story begins, she befriends the prince, Jonathen and many more. Of course there are enemies along the way, but there is no obsticle Alanna can't face without a little courage. (And lessons from her friend George, a seventeen year old man who helps out Alanna when she needs him.) This story enspired me to do what I am told no questoins asked! (LOL) Very accurate with its information, Alanna is a series I would reconmend to anyone! I bought it in the morning, and was done with it that night. This book sucks you in and seduces your soul. Makes your mind tingle with question and surprise, and grow with the characters as they grow. Dissapointment never rose in me, only anticipation and excitment. I also caught myself falling in love with the ever so popular prince, Jonathon! If you love adventure, romance, mystery, and excitment, read Alanna and I guarantee this book is for you! Thriving with fun and enchantment, Alanna is surely my favorite series yet!