Series Review: The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

Synopsis for Alanna: The First Adventure taken from Goodreads:

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: 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.

Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's first adventure begins - one that will lead to the fulfillment of her dreams and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land.


This series was my first introduction to Tamora Pierce and I was immediately hooked. It's full of action, self-discovery, romance, politics, and a confident young heroine that I adored from the start. This series is fun and fantastic, but like every series, it has a couple problems:

PROS

• STRONG CHARACTERS - The characters in this series are fantastic. You have tough, strong Alanna, who you get to watch grow up and figure out who she is. You have Prince Jonathan, who is compassionate and kind and really wonderful. And you have George, who is so difficult to explain, yet such a lovable person in spite of (and maybe sometimes because of) his thievery. The characters are all well-built and extremely distinct - and you can connect with them easily.
• ROMANCE ISN'T AT THE FOREFRONT - While there is some romance in this series, it takes a backseat to the action. For some people, this isn't ideal, but for me, it was a plus. Alanna got to learn about herself and have adventures without losing herself to a young and far-too-passionate romance. That being said, there is romance in this book. And it's adorable and sweet and keeps you guessing. Even when Alanna grows up, the romance feels realistic and there's even some very matter-of-fact sex positivity in this series - Alanna can enjoy sex without it being all consuming AND without being regarded as a slut. It's wonderful.
• INCREASINGLY COMPLEX PLOT - The first book is mostly about Alanna learning to be a knight and to pretend to be a boy. As she grows up, the plot thickens and the books get more complicated and intriguing as Alanna learns more. What starts as a coming-of-age story gradually raises the stakes until Alanna's work is far more important than just learning to fence.

CONS

• WRITTEN FOR YOUNGER AUDIENCES - I read this series as an adult and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I was definitely not the target audience. For younger readers, a simple and clear voice will be a plus. For me, it was sometimes hard to take myself as seriously since this book is very obviously not written for adults. Start your young fantasy readers on it now or read it together - they'll love it.

Have you read this series? What pros and cons would you add? What similar series have you read?

On heroines I want to be when I grow up

As a little girl, reading strong, independent heroines was one of my favorite things to do. It was wonderful to have a heroine to look up to and to emulate as I figured myself out. I wanted to be so many different heroines when I’d grow up - and they’d all bleed into playing with my brother as I played increasingly strong characters in our games. Now that I’m a bit older, it’s interesting to look through some of the book I’ve read and pick out the women I’d want to be - and the qualities that make them such good heroines.

• Rae Spellman from The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz - Rae knows what she wants and she constantly dedicates herself wholeheartedly to it - whether that’s blackmailing her sister, waging war with her uncle, or joining the family business.
• Violet Baudelaire from “The Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket - Violet is both tender and tough, caring and courageous. She balances all this, is an excellent older sister, invents fantastic things, and somehow continues to hope for the best in the midst of everything the Baudelaires go through. As a little girl, Violet was my idol.
• Alanna from “The Song of the Lioness” by Tamora Pierce - Alanna wants desperately to be a warrior - so she disguises herself as her brother for several years to train, fooling everyone but her best friends. Alanna shows us that girls can be tough and independent and still have good relationships with men.
• Luxa from “The Underland Chronicles” by Suzanne Collins - Luxa lives through trauma, war, and lots of immaturity as she works to become the leader that her people need. She begins as a silly (and somewhat cruel) little girl and transforms into a thoughtful and caring leader. Luxa shows us that we can all change and become the people we need to be.
• Lift from Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson - Lift is an adorable character who doesn’t let tough situations get her down and she’s always happy to show off her quirks and abilities.
• Risa Ward from Unwind by Neal Shusterman - Risa is one of the most caring character I’ve ever read. She’s kind to everyone she meets and does everything she can to help everyone she cares about. But that doesn’t make her a pushover - she plays it smart and keeps working to get what she wants.
• Steris Harms from Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson - Steris is featured in earlier Mistborn books, but she was a difficult character until Bands of Mourning. At first, we see Steris as a stern and irritable (and very dull) woman. But as we get to know her better, we grow to see that she’s funny, very thoughtful and well-meaning (though not always effective), detail-oriented, and that she can plan like nobody’s business. Steris reminds us that there’s far more under the surface for most people and that the folks who are dullest on the surface often have fascinating (and wonderfully quirky) backgrounds and personalities.

What heroines would you want to grow up to be? What heroines from this list do you look up to?