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Summary: Alanna's great adventures reviewed.
Review: First of all, I love this series. It captured my imagination when I was in 3rd grade or so, and I've gone through multiple copies of each book, just from reading them so much over the years. I am however, surprised that so many are commmenting on the "mature issues" in the books. I never even noticed anything that made me giggle when I originally read them, and honestly, parents, if you think your kids are that clueless at whatever age they are, then you need to wake up a little bit. Any sexual innuendo went completely over my head. The only thing I can recall that I questioned, was when I was younger, and I read about Alanna menstruating for the first time, and asking my mother about it. It opened up a WONDERFUL discussion for the two of us, and at the time, it was probably about 2 years before such events occurred for me. I guarantee your daughter will love these books, and you have nothing to fear from her reading them. Discuss the books with your child like you should, and it will enrich the both of you.
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Summary: The Best Series Ever
Review: I absolutely have to say that these are my favorite books in the entire world. Once I read the first one, I knew I had to finish the series. This book has everything: adventure, excitement, romance. In this series, Alanna a Trebond dreams of becoming the first lady knight in a century. So she switches places with her brother & pretends to be a boy. Throughout the series, Alanna has many adventures like going to the Black City, defeating and evil sorcerer, training shamans for the Bloodly Hawk, & finding the Dominian Jewel. Her hardest task was to protect her identity, which stayed hidden until she became a knight. I love the romance too! She has the task of choosing between three guys who all seem to be hopelessly in love with her (well, not exactly hopelessly in love, but close enough). I got so mad and Jon when he said she was unfeminine. How can you be a knight if you're worring about your hair or your nails? Anyway, the series is great, you have to read it. And after you finish this series, I recommend the Immortals and the Proctector of the Small. I've read all of them, and I was so sad when the story of Tortall was over. I don't think I'll ever find any books better than these.
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Summary: Way Cool!!
Review: I absolutly LOVED these books, and this is quite an accomplishment, because I'm really picky about my books, but I went through this book in a day!! I can't wait to read 2, 3, and 4!!! Yipee!!!!!!!! ~Liz
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Summary: From a future minister
Review: I am shocked and dismayed by some of the reviews I have seen of this series. I began these books at age 12, and have bought them again at age 22. I am appalled that some people's views of premarital sex (which, by the way, is never depicted explicitly and has never been explicit in any of Tamora Pierce's novels) would allow them to dismiss Alanna as a role model.
First of all, Tamora Pierce does not write children's books, and has in fact stated that she writes her books for teens AND adults. She writes fantasy novels, but a good bit of their appeal is that she keeps them connected to real life. I have seen some people claim that any adult themes/undertones are the result of being modeled after medieval Europe...to that I would reply that while the society is based on old Europe, the people are just people. Does Alanna have sex? Yes. Does she experience the gamut of human emotions and sometimes make bad decisions? Yes. Alanna's appeal is that she is a person--with human failings--who sets out to achieve something great through her perseverence, faith, and staunch belief in protecting those who cannot protect themselves. She grows into a woman who is nobody's fool, refuses to allow herself be put into a "woman's role", and builds the life that she wants.
This book is going to make children have sex? In our society, teens don't need books to give them the idea to have sex. Parents providing stable support and listening to their children's lives and concerns is the only way that those children will make life choices, not their reading material. If parents believe that filtering their children's books will make them "good kids", they will filter out the best literature (Shakespeare, Austen, Grimms Fairy Tales, etc.) ever written...and in the process, remove all the heroes like Alanna (with her menstration, fears about her body, occasional self-doubts) whose lives they can relate to. If I could give this series 10 stars, I would.
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Summary: Not only for girls aged 9 - 12
Review: I first read the song of the lioness books back in high school. i loved the books and how it was written you don't get books about female legands often. These books tell the story of a girl Alanna of trebond and her thrist for an adventure. And Adevture you get as you follow her Journey from a girl in to woman hood trying to become a knight and the evil people who make it hard for her to achive her dream. The books have action, romance, good verse evil and comedy i'm going to tell you that now as a 22 year old these books still make me wanna read it again and again. Alanna's adventures were fun to read and still are and i hope we can see more spin off books about tortall and it's people. I sugguest to read these books and the other Adventures as well, the immortals adventures and the Protector of the small.
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Summary: Must read for a young woman
Review: I first read these books when I was 12. I absolutely loved them and I am now buying them for my niece who is turning 12. They are amazing and a must read for every young woman out there. This is book where a young woman is the hero, not the airhead damsal in distress. In each volume, her confidence and strength grow making her an amazing and unforgetable character.
I have read some of the reviews regarding sex. I find them to be ridiculous. This is far from a sex book or even a silly romance book. There are very few novels out there where young woman are heros that I am shocked that some people are so quick to disregard them. The author did an amazing job of creating a multidimensional character that is unforgetable - even fifteen years after first reading it.
The character's battles are full of fantasy, but the message is still universal. That being a woman doesn't mean that you are condemned to one station in life. Just as the main character did in this book, it should inspire young woman to go after their dreams.
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Summary: good girl-powered literature
Review: I first read these in the seventh grade, and they are the books that got me hooked on reading. They were the first books that I couldn't put down...I remember taking them into restaurants and reading while I was waiting for my food to arrive. I still randomly pick them up now and again and reread my favorite parts, and many times I end up reading much more than I planned.
In any case, they are very good books. Alanna is a strong, believable heroine who grows in the course of the story, and despite her many faults it is impossible not to become quite attached to her. The supporting characters are also very lovable, particularly George and Jon. And the setting Tamora Pierce creates is rich and bursting with culture.
I think they would be particularly enjoyed by teenage girls. There is some implied sex, but there are never any crude or graphic refences (I even missed many of the implications the first time I read them). Otherwise, Alanna is driven by chivalry and other virtuous qualities, and Duke Roger, the antagonist, is driven by greed and all things sinful. The main conflict comes down to good vs. evil. And Alanna is a wonderful hero; she is not afraid to overcome the limitations that society puts on women. Her actions inspire change and acceptance in her kingdom as she struggles to save them all from certain doom. She excells in areas that once only belonged to men. The message her story sends to young women is awesome.
Tamora Pierce is a great storyteller and Alanna is an unmatched heroine. These books are a must-read for any fantasy fan or for any young adults looking for some good, female-powered lit.
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Summary: Best series
Review: I think that this is the best series of hers yet.It outshines Immortals and Protector of the small by a landslide. It's about Alanna who goes to the castle to become a knight of the realm.She disguises herself and acts like all the others. She is faced with many challenges from the black city people to duke rodger. she also learns many new things about life, love ,and friendship. This is a superb series so read it.
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Summary: Absolutely Wonderful!!!
Review: I was looking for a Christmas gift a year ago for my young cousin. Being 15 years older than her and male makes for hard gift ideas till I ran acrossed this set of books! This is a wonderful tail (told in 4 books) of a young lass who wanted to be a knight and all the many adventures she had. I read this books just before Christmas 2003 so much I kept them for myself and went back and got another set for my cousin who from all reports loves them too! Ms Pierce tells a wonderful story and has created a wonderful universe that will keep the readers attention. Whether female or male, young or old, everyone can enjoy reading the Tortall series!!
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Summary: Very entertaining
Review: I've read every book that Tamora Pierce has written that's set in the world of Tortall etc. This series remains my favourite though (apart from maybe her lastest, with Alanna's daughter). I'm glad that Alanna's was the first story to be told, because she appears in the other series and i always love seeing her there.
She's such an interesting character, one of my favourites out of every book and you really feel for her.
The books are great and i love their mix of action, romance, magic and plot. The only problem is that they're short, which means there over and done with fairly quickly, but if you're like me you'll read them over and over.
I just love the characters really, Alanna and Faithful (her mystical cat), Prince Jonathen, Roald, Gary, and of course George. The only character i didn't like was Alex (but you're not really meant to i don't think).
I also find Alanna's love life great, there isn't any romance in the first book because she and the other main characters are only children, but when she becomes a teenager it gets more interesting!
So i really recommend these books, and the other series as well, because Tamora Pierce writes good stories with really loveable characters.
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