Tag Archives: YA

Fantasy That Matures With Its Protagonist! ‘In The Hand of A Goddess’ by Tamora Pierce

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I think I actually liked this one a bit more than Alanna: The First Adventure.

Pierce really escalates a lot of the elements present in the first book, but also managed to incorporate some new themes which really raised the stakes quite a bit. One notable escalation was of course in the level of danger present throughout the book. For the first book, the main tension seemed to be that Alanna will be discovered as a girl, and have to give up on her dream of becoming a knight. The final showdown between her, Johnathan, and the Ysandir is perhaps the only scene in which we truly feel Alanna’s life might be at risk.

In the Hand of the Goddess gives us much more in the way of real danger. In the first book, Alanna discovers a sword, in the second book, she’s expected to use it, and seems to do so quite a bit. There are duels to win, and bandit raids to survive; a hunt for a giant wolf, and an actual war. In the Hand of the Goddess still feels very much like part two of a bildungsroman, but Pierce also manages to move the story noticeably towards a more adult form of sword and sorcery.

I love that the story seemed to mature as the character did. The passage of time is certainly more noticeable in this story than in Alanna’s first adventure. I think she’s like 16 or 17 by the time the story begins to wrap up. Jonathan is a bit older. George is even older still.

I’ll admit that George and Alanna’s relationship feels a bit uncomfortable in 2024 because of their age difference. It’s uncertain how intentional this discomfort is on the part of the author, but given what I’ve heard from some friends who have read further in the series, I kind of imagine that it wasn’t something she meant to include? It is hard to say. This book was originally published in 1984 and while I would absolutely assume her views are in line with progressives today, being progressive 30 years ago just looked a little different.

The third — and perhaps final? — thing that stood out to me while reading In the Hand of the Goddess was the novel’s (and Alanna’s) use of magic. Our knowledge of what magic can do in Tortall deepens significantly during this book but I thought it was refreshing that despite this clearer picture, the reader does not really lose the sense of mystery presented by it. Magic in this book does not feel like a system, like you might find in a Brandon Sanderson novel. It does not feel like just another kind of science.

It feels like . . . well like magic.

I think it’s only a small spoiler (happens in the first chapter and is literally part of the title) to say that we meet a goddess in this book, which to my mind was not enough to fit the book into the Godpunk genre, but was highly reminiscent (to me) of ancient Greek myth which I felt had implications not only for the plot but for how magic works in the world. Very late in the book, we also see a kind of sympathetic magic happening which was also quite intriguing. I’m sure this will be explored further in later volumes, and I’m looking forward to tracking this as it progresses.

Give ‘In the Hand of the Goddess‘ a read?

If you enjoyed Alanna: The First Adventure, I suspect you’ll enjoy In the Hand of the Goddess. I loved that the narrative shifts (IMHO) as the story progresses, becoming more and more adult as Alanna ages, to the point where by the end we are very close to leaving the YA genre behind for a more traditional sword and sorcery novel.

That’s all I have for this week. What is everyone else thinking? What were your favorite parts? Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I’m looking forward to talking about this one!

Until next time!

Don’t Sleep on This 80’s Fantasy Classic: ‘Alanna the First Adventure’ by Tamora Pierce

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I probably should have read this one waay before now.

Though I generally (really) hate the idea that there is some magical list of Fantasy and Science Fiction titles which fans of this incredible genre “need” to have read, I can’t wholly dismiss the fact that certain books are just going to serve as a touchstone for more people than others.

Obviously these touchstones are a bit of a moving target, and will vary for people based on their age, gender identity, where they grew up and probably a hundred other factors I don’t even know to consider. This is why it’s good to read broadly both inside and outside of your favorite genre.

Knowing this and actually doing it are quite different things however, and so The Song of the Lioness and Tamora Pierce have for some time held this strange position on my TBR of: almost every woman I know that likes Fantasy is obsessed with these books, I’ll get around to it someday.

I’m glad ‘someday’ finally arrived.

At a first glance, Alanna: The First Adventure might not appear to have much to its credit other than being “first” (for a lot of people) to show a female character partaking in the kind of seemingly standard fantasy adventure that male characters have been enjoying since the dawn of the genre. With character’s like Disney’s Mulan and Game of Thrones’ Arya Stark occupying more recent roles in that space, I wondered if this book’s effect might be somewhat muted for more modern readers.

But as I looked around at different reviews, certain themes really began to stand out as elements which were both unique to Alanna: The First Adventure, and sources of empowerment and triumph for readers of all ages, whether looking back at a beloved classic from their childhood, or reading the story for the first time.

Perhaps the easiest to point out, is the section in which Alanna gets her period for the first time. Simply put, she does not know what to do about it. And not only can she not ask the other squires and knights about it because it will give away her secret, but also what would they know about it anyway.

She is eventually able to seek advice from another woman, and the scene that unfolds is remarkably (refreshingly?) straightforward and seemingly free of any kind of implication not already implied by its inclusion in the first place. As Dina over at SFF Book Reviews says:

“. . . this children’s fantasy book mentions menstruation and just . . . deals with it.” – So Begins the Song of the Lioness: Tamora Pierce – Alanna: The First Adventure

There is clearly a lot here for girls and women to take from the story, but I felt there was also a lot which men and boys could learn as well. As Alanna learns the rules, codes and standards which she must uphold as a knight, a kind of critique of chivalry — and masculinity in general — becomes apparent in the background of events. Alanna’s instructor, Myles, seems especially well positioned to point out such critiques though he’s perhaps not much of a role model (I’m sure there are full posts that could be written about the nuance of Myles’ character).

Finally, I’ll point out that the writing craftsmanship on display here by Tamora Pierce is top-notch. The ideas in this book (as discussed above) are BIG, but I didn’t really find myself hung up on them while reading. I was mostly concerned with what would happen next. I attribute this to Pierce’s mastery of craft. Her prose are easy to read, and straightforward to understand. We might expect as much from a book directed at a younger audience, but what impressed me here was that this direction did not sanitize or dumb down the issues at hand but still managed to present them in ways which were nuanced and most importantly, intensely compelling.

Give ‘Alanna: The First Adventure‘ a read?

Simply put, yes. This book is clearly targeted towards a younger audience but there is a lot here for adults as well. I could see myself suggesting this book to anyone looking to start reading fantasy for the first time as I felt it follows a kind of standard Fantasy genre structure, but with some important subversions of the genre.

That’s all I have for us this week. Has anyone read this one before? What was your favorite part? Did you read this one growing up? Have you read it again as an adult? What stuck out to you?

Leave your thoughts in the comments! Looking forward to talking about this one!

Until next time . . .

Should ‘Legendborn’ win a Lodestar Award?

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We’re back this week with another book review of Hugo 2021 related material. In this case, it’s my review of the book Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. It’s been nominated for the Lodestar Award, which in my mind is essentially the Hugo Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

I’ve already reviewed several Lodestar and Hugo nominees so far, in a variety of categories so if you’re interested in the work I’ve completed so far, go ahead and check it out.

Now, on to the matter at hand: Legendborn.

It’s already earned Deonn a John Steptoe Award for New Talent (given out by the American Library Association), as well as an Ignyte Award for Best YA Novel. It’s been a finalist in a slew of other awards, including the Locus Award, LA Times Book Prize, and the Goodreads Choice Awards (how I found out about it).

Needless to say, Legendborn is already something of a legend itself, and after reading it, I can definitely see why. It’s a pretty great book.

I think the easiest way to go about this review will be to list all of the things I like about the book, and then the (very) few things I didn’t like. Here we go:

So I think the core of this book — the part that shined the brightest for me — is its representation of grief and loss. I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that the main character, Bree, opens the story after her mother has been killed in a hit and run accident. She does NOT handle it well (who would/could?) and it is her refusal to believe the reality she is given, and her quest for answers that drives nearly every aspect of the story.

This felt so real, it was often difficult to read. This fact alone speaks volumes about the quality of Deonn’s prose and the skill with which she crafted this story. Indeed my first thought as I was listening was something along the lines of: “Wow. Everything in this book just leads right into the next thing like a tightly woven fabric”. For the most part, this cohesion held throughout the entirety of book. There were no (or very few) places in which I wondered how we got to a certain part or where the story was going. Everything just flew along.

Effortless. I love it when books are like this!

The next part of the story that stood out to me, was just how difficult the world Bree inhabited was for her (even without grief making it all that much worse). Much of that work was communicated through the use of both micro and macro aggressions Bree experiences in each of the realms of her story (someone even had the nerve to pat her hair!). UNC, the lodge, and Arthur’s round table, each added another layer of resistance, not only for her quest to find answers about her mother’s death, but also just for her livelihood in general. At any given moment Bree is being told by a handful of separate influences that she does not matter, that she does not belong. That she is able to persevere against so much is truly inspiring.

In an interview with NPR: New Hampshire, Deon explains how often times young black girls are a expected to grow up quicker, and be an adult earlier than other groups of children and how she wanted to show this in her story. She explains the stereo type of the Angry Black Woman and how she wanted to irrevocably justify that anger. She talked about the trope of the Strong Black Woman and how she wanted Bree to be this as well (reading Legendborn I think we see that she is although it is more nuanced in approach than many other portrayals).

And finally, she discusses the experience of not knowing your people’s stories except for a few generations back, while we have hundreds, if not thousands of years of stories around myths like King Arthur who historians cannot even be confirm actually existed.

I’ll admit that listening to the interview put a lot of what this book is ‘about’ in perspective for me, and I think that while I may not have known exactly what I was feeling while I read, Deonn absolutely accomplished what she set out for with Legendborn. That it was so ambitious a task only makes it that much more impressive.

Now that I’ve harped about the parts of this book that I thought were so impressive, I’ll list a couple things which I didn’t enjoy as much (and recognize that everything listed hereafter is one hundred percent personal preference).

First thing: The Love Triangle. Deonn plays with many — MANY!! — tropes in Legendborn and for the most part, kicks their butt (whether by subverting them or refreshing them). But with everything else going on in the book, this part seemed completely unnecessary. At one point during the novel, Bree even says something along the lines of “I thought of all the reasons I shouldn’t go see him, yet I felt compelled by some force I could not understand to see him anyway.”

That force is the Hand of the Author Bree. Resist!! Sigh.

Perhaps this type of thing is exactly what other readers look for in a YA Fantasy, but it just didn’t work for me (I also rolled my eyes pretty hard at a reference to Twilight, not because it was Twilight per se, but because the scene quoted was by far one of the goofiest looking scenes of the movie which I hoped we could all just forget. Apparently not hahah).

Finally, while I think the contrast of King Arthur’s legend against Bree’s search for her family’s history brought an interesting dichotomy to light, I’m just not that in to Arthur and the round table.

So . . . Lodestar?

This book has certainly earned one, and I understand the hype surrounding it, however, I don’t think it will be my choice for the Lodestar Award. While Bree’s character was expertly drawn, I hardly remember much about the side-characters which were a real strong point for Cemetery Boys, and while a covertly magical UNC Chapel Hill is a unique and interesting world, it was not as immersive to me as the one built in Raybearer. I think one of those two will be my choices for the Lodestar (sorry Deadly Education) although Legendborn is an excellent book (I won’t really be all that upset if it wins).

That’s all for now. Please let me know your thoughts. Do you agree with my points? Is there something I haven’t considered? Why do you think Legendborn should get the award? Please let me know in the comments. See you next time!

Should ‘Cemetery Boys’ win the Lodestar Award?

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I think so far this is my front runner for the award (though I still have four more nominees to read).

I’ll admit up front that (I think) Yadriel is the first openly trans character I’ve read in fiction, SFF or otherwise. Certainly, one of the most interesting and prescient elements of the novel is the way in which Yadriel has to navigate life with this identity, despite a world which — whether intentionally or unintentionally — just doesn’t understand him.

The author mentions in an interview for NPR, that “[Very often] … teaching falls onto the shoulders of queer/trans kids, which can be exhausting.”

I FELT THIS constantly while reading Cemetery Boys (so great execution there). At times it seemed there was enough tension and suspense in just this one aspect of the plot that it was almost cruel to have a magical murder mystery to solve on top of it.

But heroes do hard things and Yadriel is no exception. I enjoyed rooting for him and watching him grow. That he often had so few reasons to grin like a fool, only made me grin that much wider when he finally cracked a smile.

Another strength of the novel is Yadriel’s crew. Julian was perhaps my favorite. Even though he’s technically dead (a ghost), the kid is bursting with life. Energetic, confident, and enthusiastic about seemingly everything, Julian at first appears not to have a care in the world. We see later, that life has not been easy for him either, and that he has his own struggles and issues to contend with . . . which only makes his no-holds-barred approach to life (unlife?) even more impressive and inspiring. He doesn’t always know the right thing to say, and he basically never knows the right thing to do, but he’s honest and caring, and true to himself, in a way that gets him forgiven for his missteps. He’s a perfect companion for Yadriel on this adventure, a true yin to Yad’s yang (try saying that ten times fast).

Maritza also should get an honorable mention as well. She’s a badass and super supportive to everyone in a kind of I-am-rolling-my-eyes-at-you way (as in she’s rolling her eyes, not the reader). Plus she has two adorable pitbulls which provide a shot of much needed laughter and cheerfulness when things are in danger of getting too intense.

Essentially, this story is about its characters, and the author, Aiden Thomas, just nails them seemingly effortlessly.

The last element in the ‘awesome’ category is the book’s milieu (I probably should just say worldbuilding). We’re in Los Angeles, but mostly we’re in this Latinx community of Brujx. There’s so much to delve into here, but I won’t because I’d rather you just read it and experience it for yourself. What I really admired most though, was how tethered (in the case of freeing a soul literally) the magic was to the identity of the community and the protagonist specifically. Everything revolved around it, and there was no shortage of detail to really immerse (welcome us) into the community. Whether it was painting sugar skulls while discussing ancient gods, or simply eating delicious food at relative’s house, it all felt real, and wonderful.

And in the case of an aunt or grandmother constantly trying to push food on you as a teen, somewhat nostalgic?

I had only one gripe with the book and it was pacing. There were a few points which I felt we were getting information we had already seen or heard, or a few times — after learning some new clue or info — we’d have to go home or sit through school. Perhaps I was just identifying too much with Julian who can’t sit still for longer than a few moments. However, none of these moments took me out of the story for long.

Conclusion?

I’m going to say optimistically (as of 6/22/2021) that this will be my vote for the Lodestar Award. A Deadly Education was really great, but marred by too many insensitivities. This book just seemed to shine, so unless the one of the other four nominees shines brighter somehow, I think this will be the one.

Thanks for reading all this. Please let me know your thoughts on the book, and what your favorite parts were in the comments section. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!