Skip to main content

Alanna: The First Adventure Song of the Lioness #1

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Being sent away from her home by an otherwise occupied father, Alanna doesn't want to go to the convent to become a lady and her brother Thom doesn't want to become a knight. So they decide to switch places and Alanna, pretending to be a boy, heads to the palace to begin her training as a page while Thom goes to study sorcery at the convent. It is a difficult world physically, mentally, and emotionally as Alanna must learn to fit in at the palace.

Category: YA

Why I chose this book: Read a few books from the same author when I was younger

My personal opinion (the review): I was hoping for more from this book. It was good and I will continue with the series, but it just seemed to leave something to be desired. For one, there was more magic/fantasy elements than I expected. Also, we don't get to see a lot of the behind the scenes struggle. Alanna struggles with sword combat. We are told she practices her skills after everyone else goes to bed at night and then all of a sudden she is the best in the palace. She also hardly seems to have negative consequences from anything that happens to her. 

Warnings
Language: None
Violence: Learns fighting skills of knights. Several battles recited blow by blow, but nothing graphic.
"Adult" situations: Nothing sexual, however it mentions Alanna going through puberty and not understanding what is happening and trying to hide the signs of her maturity. A healer woman gives her a charm to ward of pregnancy after she starts her menstrual cycle, but it doesn't come into play in this book. 
Death: Alanna participates in battles seeing and killing enemies, nothing explicitly graphic. 

 Movie rating equivalent: PG-13

Protagonist description: Alanna is strong-willed (though she is realistic in that she does get tired and overwhelmed at times.) She is intelligent and good in her studies and gains the favor of all who know her (but sometimes, she is almost too good).

Point of view of story: Third

Book length: Listened to it, medium

Story flow: Fluid

Grammar and spelling issues: None, listened to it. 

Character connection (no spoilers): Sir Miles 

For series:
Independent or integral: Independent as first in series

Series review as a whole: The first book was decent, but then the series took some turns I wasn't expecting. Overall it's probably not worth looking into.

If you only have time for one, read: Alanna: The First Adventure 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

By
Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Improbable Libraries Alex Johnson

By
Concept: " A visual journey to the world's most unusual libraries." Author : Alex Johnson, a journalist and consultant . Both parents were librarians.  Monologue score  (1-10) (how entertaining): 8 - Overall I found this book quite interesting. I loved seeing all the ways that people were working to bring books into the community and how many were trying to create a sense of community through books. The pictures did a great job of helping to visualize how these libraries are being used.  Difficulty level: 3- Not very hard. Each of the seven sections (Libraries on the Move, Animal Libraries,Tiny Libraries, Big Libraries, Home Libraries, Mobile Libraries, and Not Libraries) starts with a short introduction and then gives a picture (or three) of the library described.  What I Learned/Review:  I really found this to be an enlightening and uplifting book. Having been a librarian and having a love for books in general it warms my heart to see all the ways that ...
1 comment
Read more

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) The series continues. The Loriens increase in strength and number, and more of their powers develop. Number Six is unstoppable! And numbers Seven, Nine, and Ten join the group, with number Four. The bad guys get worse- those that don't get wiped out! Category Sci-Fi, Fantasy Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) With the last book, the superhuman/alien aspect seemed almost believable. John and Henri were fallible and almost fragile. With this book, Six is completely unbeatable, so it's losing credibility. Rather, I'm able to separate my imagination from it, not dive in so deeply. Still a great book, but it could have used a bit of realism or a bit of failure, maybe. Warnings Violence: plentiful, and some pretty descriptive Language: rare and pretty mild Death: yes, and of several major characters "Adult" situations: teen love and some kissing, but nothing uncomfortable Movie rating...
Post a Comment
Read more