Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

Source: Personal Copy

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: January 1st 1983
Series: Song of the Lioness #1
Edition: Paperback, 274 pgs
Genre: Young Adult/ Paranormal Fantasy
Purchase: Barnes and Noble / Amazon
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Rating: 5/5

"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.

Tamora Pierce will always have a reader in me. No matter what she writes she will always be on my Auto buy list. Alanna The First Adventure is the story that started it all and won my heart. The thing that I really love about this book and the series as a whole, is that you get to grow right alongside Alanna. Or well, I did the first time I read it. that was when I was around 12 or so, and I didn't have all the books at once so I read them spread out... ANYWAY. Alanna's character grows throughout the book, not just personality wise but she actually ages as well. Some stories are set in a shorter period of time, even some series only revolve around a year of time passing. With Tamora Pierces books you get to watch the character grow and change and experience the vast range of emotions that we all do growing up. You don't just know her as a Preteen, you read about her as a preteen, a teen and an Adult, and even get to read more about her in Pierce's other series. 

Alanna The First Adventure is filled with action and adventure, magic and intrigue. This first book doesn't really have Romance, I mean... she is 11.. and pretending to be a boy, makes things a bit difficult. That is one of the reasons though that I love recommending this series to younger readers. Like I said, you get to grow with the character. 

Alanna is a wonderful character. Filled with fire and wit and a desire to to anything within her power to get what she wants- to become a Lady Knight. The other characters in the story are amazing as well. You've got the ones you hate, the ones you adore, and the ones that grow on you. They all do something that helps Alanna grow as a Page and as a person. 

I've read alot of reviews that say the bones of the story are alot like Eon- Girl disguises herself as a boy in order to become a great warrior. But PLEASE keep in mind, The Song of The Lioness was written well before Eon. Eon is an amazing story yes, but just because they have some similarities should not make you think you are just going to be reading the same story all over again. Give Alanna A chance to win your heart :) I hope you love her as much as I did.