Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Alanna: The First Adventure

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

31 reviews

smcrain's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It's such a great early reader book. Easy to read, great introduction to fantasy with compelling characters. I was rec'ced this for my daughter and decided to read it along with her. It has the girl disguising as boy trope that I love easily devoured this in a few hours. My daughter really burned through this one as well and liked it so much that she talked about it to her friends at school, who are now taking turns borrowing it. Also, the updated anime looking covers were very appealing to her. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but try telling an 11-year-old that expression and then giving them a stack to pick from. This cover def won her favor based on looks. ❤️

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cleverruhs's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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seulgireads's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

One of my favourite nostalgia reads, wholesome and fun.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

I remember liking these books a lot as a kid, but this one didn't hit the spot as an adult. I might need to read the whole story (quartet). Or maybe it was Pierce's Protector of the Small or the Immortals series that I loved. I'll try a few more and see.

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jjamieww's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There were parts of the book that were really great and I can see how they might embolden a kid who reads them. Talking about your first period, explaining how friendships work, and choosing what’s best for you in spite of what others think.

I think the book could have gone into more detail on certain things and explained them more especially if it’s a kiddo reading it.

The climax of the book being this battle in a random place didn’t make much sense. There were a lot of loose ends as well that I assume will get wrapped up in the later books.

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totallywickedruth333's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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fuchsiarascal's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Oh, Alanna, my 12 year old crush. I still love these books, but I’ll also readily admit that an almost-5 star rating is partly nostalgia (I gave it 5 on goodreads but since we can do quarters and halves here, figured I'd knock it down a bit to better reflect a non-nostalgic view too). I think the series and world Tamora Pierce built is great, but as far as the writing itself goes… well, it’s a product of its time (80s). Tammy herself has spoken on this, that she had to significantly pare down her early books because before Harry Potter, young adult novels just simply weren’t accepted if the manuscripts were over ~200 pages. As a result, this book goes from one event to the next with pretty much no filler. As I re-read it now for the hundredth time (…quite possibly literally), but also for the first time since 2012, I yearn for more filler, and also appreciate that Tammy’s later books (starting with the Protector of the Small quartet) were allowed to be longer and have room to breathe.

All that said, I still think Alanna’s books are SUPER important. Alanna’s journey is wonderful and resonates strongly with many who have ever been at odds with their assigned gender, for whatever reason. I simply didn’t want to do the “girly” things, but transgender and nonbinary people will find a lot of similarities, especially as she enters puberty. (And this evolves further as she grows up in later books.) As a 12 year old, reading a book in which the main character deals with her first period was unheard of! That definitely stuck with me. (It’s also one of the many reasons that I think everyone, regardless of gender, should read these books. Imagine normalizing menstruation!)

And, of course, there’s all the stuff of Alanna training to be a knight, facing struggles (both inward and outward), finding lifelong friends, and overcoming everything. This is just the first book in her accepting who she is, and she’s got a lot still to come, but seeing her build her confidence and hint at the bigger issues in later books is a great ride.

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