Pierce, Tamora. Alanna: the First Adventure. New York: Random House, 1997. Print.
Annotation:
When Alanna and her twin brother Thom reach the age when their training must begin, they realize that without some intervention, their lives will end up as nightmares. Alanna and the village witch come up with a plan to ensure that she gets her dream -- to become a knight, and Thom instead gets to practice sorcery, as a privilege of being the younger brother. So Alanna begins her journey, can she hide the fact she is a girl from her fellow pages and squires? What kind of magic does she really possess?
Justification for Nomination (genre Fantasty):
Alanna is written by the great (in my opinion) fantasy novelist Tamora Pierce, and is the first in a quartet of books called the Song of the Lioness. I have read this book about four times and several sections more than that, because this book is the embodiment of what a tomboy wishes she could be. A magic girl who can pass as a page, and eventually become a knight? Alanna's magic sword Lightning, and her friendship with the King of Thieves and Jonathan the Prince entwine her into a journey filled in sorcery, physical anguish and triumph. I chose this book immediately upon finding out the genre because I knew that it held a special place.
There are four stages to becoming a knight in the king's palace, and therefore four books to align with Alanna's path to knighthood. There is also a tiny bit of romance hidden in this series as well, although it is not the primary objective of the book and is not prominent especially in the first one, which is the one nominated in this review.
It is written in third person, and Alanna herself is the main character. The author lets you get close to Alanna's thoughts and feelings. You feel her determination and how let down she is when she loses her temper or a battle with a stronger person. It is exciting that she is able to hide her identity and realize her dream, and these are the kind of novels that make you realize that you could possibly realize your dream. That is why fantasy is such an amazing genre, and why this book is a perfect example of enough magic to make it impossible but enough realism to think you too could someday be a knight.
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