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compass_rose_reads 's review for:

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
4.0

The whole Alanna quartet is a great gift idea for any girl age 12+ [edited to increase the age, see below] who likes knights and castles. Alanna is a strong and remarkable protagonist. Still, she goes through all of normal coming of age events that we all do. Also recommended for the grown ups like me who eat this stuff up--I first read Alanna at age 29 and loved it!

2017 - April - read aloud to 8.5yo. She loved it, but I'm thinking it's better for ages 12+. There are conversations about menstruation and sex that might catch some readers unawares. Well discussed, but still present. That isn't the problem, though. The problem is that once you read the first book, you'll want to read the second right away, and,
Spoilerin the second book, 17yo Alanna has sex. Read some of the 2star reviews of that book for more details. Maybe that is fine with you, but I don't want to read book 2 to my daughter yet and now I'm stuck having to tell her why not. Had I pre-read the series (which I had completely forgotten since my initial reading of it over 10 years ago), I wouldn't have read book 1 yet. Sigh.