Episode 44: Alanna: The First Adventure

Alanna: The First Adventure

In Episode 44, Alli is introduced for the first time to Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet, and HuffPost’s Claire Fallon joins to discuss the first book in the series, aptly named Alanna: The First Adventure. In it, our heroine Alanna seeks to circumvent the expectations of girls in her society by dressing as a boy named Alan and taking her twin brother’s place at the palace, where she can begin training to becoming a knight. The book raises questions of identity, gender, conformity, and whether or not violet eyes are really ever found in nature.

Follow Claire on Twitter @ClaireEFallon and Instagram @claireefallon. Listen to the Here to Make Friends podcast!

CHECK OUT CLAIRE’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Trust Exercise: A Novel by Susan Choi

Normal People: A Novel by Sally Rooney

MORE READING:

“Impostor Syndrome vs. Exceptionalism in Alanna: The First Adventure” (The Fandomentals, 2017)

“Happy 35th Anniversary, Alanna the Lioness” (Book Riot, 2018)

“She’s a Man, Baby!” (Forever Young Adult, 2016)

“Gender in the Song of the Lioness Series” (FanFiction, 2011)

“What a Cross-Dressing Lady Knight Taught Me About Gender and Sexuality” (Electric Literature, 2017)

“Why Tamora Pierce Doesn’t Shy Away From Sex In YA Lit” (Refinery29, 2018)

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