The whole Tortall setting has a lot of great stuff in it, but this, the original series, is very dear to my heart. Its premise is not terribly complicated (or original): a girl who wants to become a knight disguises herself as a boy and takes her twin brother's place (sending him off to become a sorcerer, which is what he wants). Despite the books being very short by current standards, they have a lot of great touches in them: the way Alanna has to work for her skills, rather than being immediately talented at everything; the relationship between her and her brother; the way Pierce handles the issue of romance as Alanna grows up. (She has three lovers during the course of the series, and not only does this not get treated as a source of shame, the choice between them is essentially a matter of which version of herself Alanna ultimately wants to be.) If you have a soft spot for medieval knight-errantry in the sort of world where the thieves have a guild and the guy in charge is a rogue with a heart of gold, you should absolutely pick these up. :-)
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branchandroot
Song of the Lioness -- Tamora Pierce
Date: 2013-07-28 09:06 am (UTC)All four books are available on Amazon, and probably also on B&N, etc.