Alanna, the first adventure (by Tamora Pierce)

(Amazon UK link)

'Alanna, the first adventure', is the first in a mediaeval fantasy series for children, written by the American writer Tamora Pierce.

It's the story of twins, Alanna and Thom, who are about to go into service. They decide to change places, so Alanna becomes 'Alan', a page learning to be a squire. Various struggles and battles ensue.

I read this aloud to my sons, who were 12 and 10 at the time. We thought it might be an interesting book to follow on from others we had enjoyed, like the Harry Potter series, and the Susan Cooper books. 

It was well-written and quite exciting. But I didn't really like it, and my sons didn't either. We all felt there was too much emphasis on 'sorcery'. It was used for good purposes, on the whole, but without the light vein of JK Rowling's writing. Neither did it have the strong moral thread that runs through many fantasy stories.

So, not really recommended by me, although it's a popular series so don't necessarily take my word for it. 

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, May 1999