Alanna: The First Adventure
Today I read through Tamora Pierce's Alanna: The First Adventure (part 1 of the Song of the Lioness quartet). Even more interesting is that the daughter of Alanna has her own series (aptly named Daughter of the Lioness).
Alanna was just another really great book. (I except all the books for this project to be great, actually!) I don't know how I missed reading this as a child/YA.
The story is about Alanna's adventures after she trades places with her twin brother in order to be sent to Court to learn all sorts of Knightly things. This first book chronicles her life from age 10 until, I believe, somewhere around age 15 (It is hard to tell exactly how old since sometimes time passes so swiftly) as she adjusts to Court life and being a page. It seem the second novel must be about her life as a squire, the next as a knight, etc.
This series (along with most of the fantasies I'm reading) must certainly prove the age-old truth-- when trying to meet the best man to fall in love with, one should disguise oneself as a man and be able to stab all others with pointy spears.
Is there not one female protagonist who says, "Ahha! I've become a ferocious warrior and magician- now I can travel the world aimlessly casting aside men after I've tired of them."
After all, that seems to be what ferocious warrior/magician men do in these stories (well, usually they cast aside women but one can never be quite certain these days- Knights are so gay).
Alanna was just another really great book. (I except all the books for this project to be great, actually!) I don't know how I missed reading this as a child/YA.
The story is about Alanna's adventures after she trades places with her twin brother in order to be sent to Court to learn all sorts of Knightly things. This first book chronicles her life from age 10 until, I believe, somewhere around age 15 (It is hard to tell exactly how old since sometimes time passes so swiftly) as she adjusts to Court life and being a page. It seem the second novel must be about her life as a squire, the next as a knight, etc.
This series (along with most of the fantasies I'm reading) must certainly prove the age-old truth-- when trying to meet the best man to fall in love with, one should disguise oneself as a man and be able to stab all others with pointy spears.
Is there not one female protagonist who says, "Ahha! I've become a ferocious warrior and magician- now I can travel the world aimlessly casting aside men after I've tired of them."
After all, that seems to be what ferocious warrior/magician men do in these stories (well, usually they cast aside women but one can never be quite certain these days- Knights are so gay).