Pierce, Tamora. 1983. Alanna: The first adventure. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN-13 978-0-689-87855-8 In the book Alanna, The First Adventure, the first installment in the Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, readers are introduced to ten-year-old Alanna of Trebond fief who ingeniously hatches a plan to switch places with her twin brother Thom and go to Corus to train as a knight under the care of Duke Gareth of Naxen while Thom will go North towards the City of Gods and train as a sorcerer. Thanks to both children’s neglectful father, their plan succeeds. Before leaving Maude, a nurse/witch who trained Alanna and Thom in sorcery as children, Maude reminds Alanna that she has much magic, and she is gifted not just to kill but to heal, and she urges Alanna to heal as much as possible in her new life in order to make up for the killing she must do as a knight. Alanna, disguised as a boy and renamed Alan, heads to Corus with Coram. Once there, her adventures begin as she embarks on her training as a page with the ultimate goal to one day become a knight. Alanna must deal with a rigorous schedule of reading, writing, mathematics, philosophy, history of war, and physical training for knighthood. She makes an enemy of a fourteen-year old boy named Ralon who relentlessly bullies her until she is able to defeat him on her own, and she also gains the friendship, loyalty, and trust of Prince Jonathan and his group of friends—Raoul, Gary, Alex, and Francis as well as the unlikely friendship with George Cooper, King of Thieves, and Knight Myles of Olau, her history of war teacher. Alanna faces many obstacles in her training as page. One of the greatest is her adventure to Bazhir where she and Jonathan face the Ysander (evil, children of gods who like to eat mortals) at the Black City. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they read this book and wonder, will Alanna manage to keep her gender a secret? Will she make it to squire? Will she survive her encounter with the Ysander? Read Alanna, The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce and find out.
Spoilers Ahead. This is a great fantasy novel for Grades 5-Up. The protagonist of this story, Alanna, ages from 10-13 years during the course of this book, and some of her insecurities and doubts represent many adolescents. As Alanna trains as a page, she wonders at times if she is good enough and worthy enough to become knight. After all, where is the honor in lying about being a boy? She also has to deal with a bully in the character of Ralon, and many adolescents can relate to dealing with bullies. What is awesome about Alanna is her ability to work very hard to overcome her weaknesses and master things she does not have a natural talent for. For example, after enduring many beatings from Ralon, even a broken arm, Alanna practices on her own how to fight and even enlists the help of George Cooper--thief and friend--to teach her how to fight hand-to-hand combat in order to beat Ralon. Probably one of the most satisfying moments in the entire book is when Alanna calls out Ralon and gives him a sound thrashing. It is literally a stand up and clap moment that is a must-read. Alanna also does extra training to build up her fencing skills because she is weak in those as well, and she makes great progress as a swordsman (or should I say woman)?
The story is set in another world and time of knights and chivalry, and Alanna must deal with some serious enemies. Ralon, her bully, is just one of the antagonists she faces. She also must face the evil Ysander who want to eat her, and she has suspicions of Prince Jonathan’s Uncle Roger of Conte as plotting the demise of Jonathan and the rest of the royal family. Tamora Pierce has done an excellent job of creating an adventure that hooks the reader and keeps then hooked throughout Alanna’s adventures. Readers will also appreciate the friendships that Alanna makes with the Prince and the rest of the pages/squires and George Cooper. One of the parts of this novel I liked the best was how Pierce wrote in 3rd person omniscient, which gave the reader more insight into Alanna’s character and how her friends view her. Alanna is an amazing character. Seventh grader Ming-Lee wrote in the January 23, 2006 Scholastic Scope that she “really liked this book because it’s about how women can be just as strong, and sometimes stronger, than men. It’s about a girl’s journey to find out who she really is.” Ming-Lee’s enjoyment of Alanna’s character is exactly why Tamora Pierce wrote her. Pierce wanted to write about strong female protagonists. A School Library Journal (March 2005) review of “Good Conversation! A Talk with Tamora Pierce” has Pierce explaining to Tim Podell that she “was frustrated by the lack of female warriors and heroines so she began to writing about them herself.” The Christian Science Monitor in July of 1997 says of Alanna, The First Adventure that Alanna is “a strong, inspirational female character. The plot keeps your attention, the characters are memorable, and Alanna is a very real person.” Upon finishing this book, readers are going to find themselves buying the rest in the series to find out how the rest of Alanna’s adventures turn out.
This is a good book to share with tweens and teens in a booktalk or booktrailer as a recommendation for independent reading. It is also a good book for reading with intermediate and middle school students in class. Caution: A few parents may object to the use of magic in this book.
Book Cover Art from Barnes&Noble:
No comments:
Post a Comment