Pierce, Tamora Books

Alanna : The First Adventure

Tamora Pierce

Amazon Price: $10.39 List Price: $12.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Atheneum Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $1.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 578 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Call it fate, call it intuition, or just call it common sense, but somehow young Alanna knows she isn't meant to become some proper lady cloistered in a convent. Instead, she wants to be a great warrior maiden--a female knight. But in the land of Tortall, women aren't allowed to train as warriors. So Alanna finds a way to switch places with her twin, Thom, and take his place as a knight in training at the palace of King Roald. Disguising herself as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page in the royal court. Soon, she is garnering the admiration of all around her, including the crown prince, with her strong work ethic and her thirst for knowledge. But all the while, she is haunted by the recurring vision of a black stone city that emanates evil... somehow she knows it is her fate to purge that place of its wickedness. But how will she find it? And can she fulfill her destiny while keeping her gender a secret?

With Alanna: The First Adventure, veteran fantasy author Tamora Pierce has created a lively, engaging heroine who will charm middle-school readers with her tomboyish bravado and have them eagerly searching for the next book in the Song of the Lioness series. Like Brian Jacques's tales of Redwall, this popular quartet is an entertaining fantasy series for younger teens. (Ages 10 to 13) --Jennifer Hubert

The Song of the Lioness Quartet: Alanna: The First Adventure / In the Hand of the Goddess / The Woman Who Rides Like a Man / Lioness Rampant

Tamora Pierce

List Price: $22.00 By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $27.77

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 80 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Family History... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My father read these books to my sisters and me when we were very young. I've probably re-read them twenty times since then, and they never get old. These would be a truly wonderful gift for a young woman.

Why read young adult fiction... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

These books are such a fun fantasy read, they have all the compelling components of a fun novel - a fiesty lass warrior, a tantalizing bit of romance, a trusty cat by the knight's side... and the text and storyline flow really effortlessly. Really a pleasure to read, this is the second series of Pierce's books I've read and I'm on to the third now! I would recommend this book for all ages.

An Epic of Female Fantasy! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I read all four books in this series in three days the summer I was 9. Since then I have not found a better author than Tamora Pierce for women's fantasy. (And yes, I have read Robin McKinley and Mercedes Lackey.) Her plots are strong and her romances are realistic. *WWRLAM SPOILER* I remember when I first read Woman Who Rides Like A Man, I hated Alanna for breaking it off with Jon, but now when I reread it, I can see that they would never have had a working relationship in the long run. Alanna goes through several men before realizing which one's right for her, which sounds pretty realistic to me. None of this perfect, lasting forever love-at-first-sight stuff.

I read some of the other reviews, and want to point out a few things: Alanna is not promiscuous. She has three lovers in ten years. Yes, it's premarital, but that doesn't bother a good portion of the population. Similarly, she IS a good role model where it matters: she does what's right. She faces her fears and follows her own morals. Not to mention she pushes Jon off when she's not comfortable with his advances. And feminism does not mean hating all men (regardless of what my mother says). Just because Alanna and her knight-master have a relationship does not mean that she slaps feminism in the face.

Overall, this is a wonderful series for young and old readers alike.

Editorial Review:

The complete saga of Alanna the Lioness from her years as a page–disguised as a boy–to her triumphant adventures as a knight of Tortall and her rise to the highest rank of King’s Champion.

Melting Stones

Tamora Pierce

Amazon Price: $21.61 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Full Cast Audio Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $18.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

As a huge Pierce fan... 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I was not at all impressed with "Melting Stones". Tamora Pierce has been one of my favorite authors for a few years now and I'll say that "Melting Stones" doesn't live up to her previous novels. The Circle of Magic quartet was quite good and exciting but this novel can be slow.

It took me some time to actually get through the beginning because I was so used to Ms. Pierce's fast paced reads. Usually with her books I'm done with the book in no time flat.

I will admit that maybe I just didn't like "Melting Stones" because Pierce's "magic" books have never been my favorite. I've always been the biggest fan of her knight books filled with action. So perhaps my opinion shouldn't be counted but either way I was not satified with this read.

Evvy is continuing her journey as a stone mage with her teacher, Rosethorn (a plant mage). Her troublesome behavior at Winding Circle (a place for mages) sends her on an adventure overseas and to an island where plants are mysteriously dying for no seen reason. It's up to them to find out what happened and save all they can.

Editorial Review:

An audiobook first! New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce has written the new novel in her popular Circle of Magic universe to go directly to audio--preceding the print version by at least a year.

Residents on one of the islands south of Emelan have sent a call for help to Winding Circle temple: Their plants and trees and the animals that live around them are mysteriously dying. From Winding Circle come two familiar figures: prickly green mage Rosethorn, whose plant magic will help her decipher what's ailing the plant life, and Briar's former student, the stone mage Evvy. With them comes the eager, nervous Dedicate Initiate Myrrhflower and Luvo, a being best described as a walking, intelligent rock. All are pulled into the island's mystery when Evvy is caught up by the wild spirits loose in an immense bubble of molten rock. Can they evacuate the island in time--or will they try to shift a volcano?

In the Hand of the Goddess

Tamora Pierce

Amazon Price: $10.39 List Price: $12.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Atheneum Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $2.43

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 227 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Read 'In The Hand of The Goddess'! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Alanna is in the palace as a squire to the future king Prince Jonathon and is still secretly disguised as a boy. Because of course in this time girls were not alowed to become knights and defend their country. While Alanna is a squire her suspicions about Duke Roger, one of the best sorcerors and the heir to the thrown after Prince Jonathon. She believes that he's trying to kill the king, queen and even one of her best friends Jon, one of the few who knows she's actually female. Alanna doesn't enjoy breaking the rules but she must so she breaks into Duke Rogers rooms and finds evidence proving that Roger is guilty but who will believe her and what will become of her if people find out her secret? Read this book because it's a gaurenteed great book!
-Hannah M.

Editorial Review:

"I don't want to fall in love.

I just want to be a warrior maiden."

Still disguised as a boy, Alanna becomes a squire to none other than the prince of the realm. Prince Jonathan is not only Alanna's liege lord, he is also her best friend -- and one of the few who knows the secret of her true identity. And when the Prince's life is threatened by a mysterious sorcerer, it will take all of Alanna's skill, strength, and magical power to protect him -- even at the risk of revealing who she really is....

Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's second adventure continues the saga of a girl who dares to follow her dreams -- and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land.

Squire (Protector of the Small, No. 3)

Tamora Pierce

List Price: $15.95 By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 73 new & used starting at $0.43

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 197 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In Book 3 of Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small sequence, 14-year-old Keladry of Mindelan is ready to begin training as a squire after undergoing four grueling years as the first girl to be officially educated as a page. Disappointed at first that Lady Alanna (whom we first met in the Song of the Lioness Quartet series) does not choose her, Kel is delighted when gruff, good-natured, down-to-earth Lord Raoul takes her on. The next four years prove to be tough but happy, for the most part, as Raoul and most of the others in the King's Own (a corps of 300 men--299 now, plus Kel--that enforces the law and helps local nobles deal with problems such as centaur attacks and forest robberies) treat Kel as an equal. Throughout, Kel is physically and mentally preparing herself for the final test in the Chamber of the Ordeal, in which fourth-year squires must successfully face their greatest fears before becoming knights.

In this sequel to First Test: Protector of the Small and Page: Protector of the Small, Kel continues to be an admirable role model: stoutly loyal, strong, independent, honest, yet very real in her fears and weaknesses. Romance lurks for the budding adolescent as she develops a crush on one fellow and begins a sweet kissing-only relationship with another, after a very frank discussion about sex with her mother. Although the buildup to the Ordeal is watered down a bit by Kel's periodic visits to the Chamber door for a taste of what's to come, overall, this latest in Pierce's series is a rousing tale of chivalry and heroism that any reader will be sorely challenged to put down. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Page (Protector of the Small)

Tamora Pierce

List Price: $16.00 By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $1.81

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 117 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

As the only female page in history to last beyond the first year of formal training to become a knight, 11-year-old Keladry of Mindelan has an uphill battle to fight. In addition to proving herself worthy of being a page, Kel spends her time defending first-year pages from bullies, staying on top of homework, conquering her paralyzing fear of heights, and keeping up with Lord Wyldon's grueling physical training schedule. Kel's detractors do everything in their power to thwart her progress, from tormenting her friends to sabotaging the Midwinter Festivities to kidnapping her maid and dog on the day of final examinations. The tide of resistance begins to turn slightly during the summer between Kel's second and third years, when she leads a team of pages in defensive maneuvers against renegade bandits--coincidentally on the same day that she gets her first period!

Tamora Pierce revisits the imaginary Kingdom of Tortall in this sequel to First Test: Protector of the Small. Fans of Pierce's exotic fantasy sequences will be hard-pressed to put either book down. Kel is a valuable role model: she's proud of being a girl, and she never wavers in her conviction that she can do anything a boy can--and usually do it better. Some rather bloody battles as well as discussions about Kel's developing body make this book appropriate for more mature readers. (Ages 10 to 14) --Emilie Coulter

First Test: Book 1 of the Protector of the Small Quartet (The Protector of the Small)

Tamora Pierce

Amazon Price: $26.60 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Listening Library (Audio) Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $19.41

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fantasy at it's best 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am so pleased that this book is finally on Audio. Protector of the Small is one of my favorite in the Tortall series. As Kell does not have any magically gifts, she relies on her good heart and conscious to guide her. She is an excellent role modal for us all. This audio version is well done, the reader is clear, concise and has excellent inflection - making the story flow (all too quickly). I hope they bring out the next three in short order. Until then, get the rest of her books on audio. All are available except for those started by Full Cast Audio. Only the first book of the Immortals is available and the second book(what's up with that) of "The Circle Opens" series. Her first series, The Song of the Lioness is only available on cassette. I'd buy it again on CD - I have no idea why they don't do a quick dub. Tamora Pierce is an excellent author, one our children can read, enjoy and learn.

Editorial Review:

In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan (known as Kel) is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits females to train for knighthood. Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces only one real roadblock: Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He is absolutely against girls becoming knights. So while he is forced to train her, Wyldon puts her on probation for one year. It is a trial period that no male page has ever had to endure and one that separates the good-natured Kel even more from her fellow trainees during the tough first year. But Kel is not a girl to underestimate, as everyone is about to find out. . .

First Test (Protector of the Small)

Tamora Pierce

List Price: $16.00 By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $0.40

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 247 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Amazing! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Loved this book just like all of her other books. A great read for girls of all ages. I would even read this book to young children. Most of Pierce's books are centered around a strong female role model and this one follows suit.

unexciting 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love Pierce's Trickster books, so I was excited to find this one. My excitement didn't last long. This book is flat and unimaginitive. In the two hundred-plus pages, the only real question addressed is whether or not Keladry will be allowed to continue her training the next year. (Keladry also has to figure out how to get along with the boys and stop some bullies, but the bullies' actions have so little effect on her [when they fight, she gets special medical attention; when they mess up her room, the maids take care of it] and making friends with the boys takes so little effort that this is a non-issue.) The focus on the gender issue at the exclusion of everything else makes the plot one-dimensional and Keladry seem whiney.

I won't be reading the rest of this series.

Editorial Review:

When Alanna became the King's Champion, it was decided that girls would henceforth be allowed to train for the knighthood. But ten years have passed, and no girls have come forward. Now, however, someone is about to change all that. Her name is Kel. In this first book in a new series from popular children's fantasy writer Tamora Pierce, we are introduced to a strong, adventurous new heroine who will win the hearts and minds of fantasy fans.

Tris's Book (Circle of Magic, Book 2) (UNABRIDGED)

Tamora Pierce

Amazon Price: $32.76 List Price: $42.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Fullcast Audio Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $12.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 70 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"You Upset Her When She's Already Frightened..." 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This volume is the second in a four-part series called "Circle of Magic" and is also titled "The Power in the Storm". Set in a fantasy realm over a one-year period, Tamora Pierce tells the story of four young mages who are brought together to live at the temple community of Winding Circle, to control and properly use their various powers.

The children couldn't be more different, but their studies bring them closer together till they are bonded magically (unbeknown to their four mentors), each sharing in the other's unique magic. Pierce claims that her inspiration comes from the olde-world handicrafts that are dying from our own world, such as weaving and metalcraft. Such things are channelled through into the mage's powers, with the exception of Tris who is a 'weather witch' and can hear voices on the wind.

Summersea is still recovering from the earthquake of the previous book, but the damage done to the harbour defences mean that Winding Circle is vulnerable to pirates. The children at Disciple Cottage are called upon to help strengthen the damaged buildings, and it is then that the pirates appear on the seas - and they have their eyes fixed on the riches of the temple. Once again, it comes down the children to rescue their beloved home - which isn't easy considering their is a betrayer in their midst...

The tension and claustrophobia of the temple is vividly created, and the pain that the pirates caused heartbreaking. Most of the action concerns the mages and their teachers preparing the defences, though I have to say that when the climactic moment comes, it's over rather quickly. The turncoat within Winding Circle is obvious, and the subplot involving Tris caring for a baby bird is interesting, but a little needless.

However, the human element is something that Pierce is great at capturing and she does so here extremely well. Tris is a wonderful character, and perhaps the most vivid and interesting of all four of the children. Plump, with glasses, red frizzy hair and a bad temper, this bookworm has a prickly personality that often puts her at odds with most people, and she infinitely prefers a book to human company. Estranged from her unloving family, she is only now beginning to open up to the feelings of human affection. But it doesn't help that the weather churns up whenever she looses her temper.

Each book also explore one of the friendships between the four, and this one mostly concerns Briar and Tris. The fact that such opposites, from such different walks of life can become friends is immensely touching. The other two children have segments of the book dedicated to them, and the bond between all of them is deep and realistic.

Not the best Pierce has to offer, and yet still a pleasant read with Pierce's ability to create the shades of grey in what could easily be a black and white novel.

Editorial Review:

Merchant’s daughter Trisana Chandler is at the center of this second book of Tamora Pierce’s wildly popular Circle of Magic quartet. Tris and her friends from Winding Circle Temple are just learning to control their magic; now they must use it to protect the coast of Emelan from a deadly pirate attack. Tamara Pierce—America’s bestselling young adult fantasy writer—narrates this exiting and emotionally stunning recording.

Wild Magic (The Immortals) (The Immortals)

Tamora Pierce

Amazon Price: $41.80 List Price: $55.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Full Cast Audio Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $25.60

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Pierce, Tamora

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 271 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent book. Tamora Pierce is a great author. I just bought another copy of this book because I misplaced my first copy.

Captivating 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Wild Magic, a book by Tomora Pierce and the first book in the series The Immortals, is about a girl named Daine. Daine was always good with animals. Then she leaves her home and realizes she is more than good with animals; she has magic. Her magic allows her to talk to them and they obey her. Her magic is about to run away with her when her new job sets her in the company of a kind mage named Numair. Numair helps her learn how to control and use her magic.
My favorite part was when all the birds in the story help Daine fight off several Stormwings. Even though they all die, Daine's powers seep out and bring the birds back to life, fix broken wings, and heal their wounds. This book would be great for anyone in to fantasy and fiction books, more for someone in 6th too 8th grade. I don't really know, older groups of people might like it as well. I give this book a 10 on a scale of 1:10.
This book has sparked my imagination. I am always thinking about how life would be if we had magical powers. This book is very entertaning and keeps the adventure going. I hope you read the other books in the Immortals series. This book captivated me. I hope you enjoy/ enjoyed it as much as I have.
-- Skylar Rowan

Editorial Review:

This first volume of the Immortals Quartet tells the adventures of Daine, a young girl on the edge of discovering her own magic-- and her powerful and strange connection to the animal world.