Song of the Lioness #2: In the Hand of the Goddess: Amazon.ca: Tamora Pierce, Trini Alvarado: Books

Product Description

From School Library Journal

Grades 5-8--Alanna of Trebond continues her masquerade as Alan in this, the second book in the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce (Random, 1990). The story spans Alanna's fours years as Prince Jonathan's squire. During this time, Alanna participates in her first war, battles against Jonathan's evil uncle, Duke Roger, meets the Great Mother Goddess and experiences first love, all the while maintaining her guise as a boy. Actress Trini Alvardo perfectly captures the essence of Alanna by giving her the uncertainty of a girl on the verge of womanhood combined with the steel determination and strength of a squire preparing for the battle to become a knight. Alvarado uses slight changes in her voice to vividly give life to a large cast of characters. While familiarity with the first book in the series, Alanna: The First Adventure (Random, 1983), will enhance this story, it is by no means necessary. Add this timeless story to collections where magic, adventure, and strong female characters are in demand.
Veronica Schwartz, Des Plaines Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"An action-filled adventure novel."—Fantasy Review

"A lively, fascinating, tale."—Booklist

See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

magic(3)

fantasy(2)

alanna(1)

knights(1)

medieval(1)

detective(1)

fiction(1)

gods(1)

mage(1)

romance(1)

Customer Reviews

207 Reviews

5 star:		(168)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (207 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars addicted to this series, Mar 4 2012

By

Fantasys Ink (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: In the Hand of the Goddess (Paperback)

Just like the first book, in the second book we saw a great deal of character growth with Alanna. Alanna goes from a squire to a knight, from fourteen until she's eighteen. That's probably what I love the most about this series - the great time lapses as we see Alanna grow up and I'm hoping the next two books will continue with that. Alanna really grew up into a young woman since in the beginning of the series when she was only ten. I really felt like I knew Alanna personally since we're seeing her grow up so much.

Some of the other characters were a little flat but Tamora Pierce did give them a lot of focus so I don't feel like that they're that bad. Alanna also acquires a rather adorable cat called Faithful. Again the writing, which is pretty simplistic, is the only reason I'm giving it four - although I still loved reading this book. Since the books in this series are pretty short they're quick light reads that I finish in one sitting.

With the second book comes romance between Jonathan and Alanna as well as Alanna and George - and there was some sexual content but honestly it was vague enough that it shouldn't be too worrisome for younger readers.

I'm really addicted to this series and can't wait to start the next two books. I also know that in later years Tamora Pierce started writing larger books as the Harry Potter series proved to publishers that young readers are willing to read bigger books. With the improvement of the writing and the larger books I'm definitely looking forward to not just the rest of this series but the rest of Pierce's books.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars In the Hand of the Goddess, Oct 29 2002

By

Sarila (Webster, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song of the Lioness #2: In the Hand of the Goddess (Mass Market Paperback)

I love fantasy books and out of ALL the fantasy books I've read the Tamora Pierce books are the best and The Song of the Lioness Quartet is my favorite our of all of her books. The series is about Alanna who doesn't agree with her society and wants to become a knight so she cuts her hair and switches places with her twin Thom. In the Hand of the Goddess is the best of this series I think because Alanna has everything you could want in a heroine. She has loyalty and strength and a strong will to suceed, she's also not afraid to take a giant risk which may land her a place of ridicule for the rest of her life. But she's not in either the super-human or delecate flower catagorys, like most heroines of fantasy books are. She's scared of things and has feelings and confusion and thoughts flowing through her head about different things. She's a human and also seems immortal at the same time. The plot twists are surprising and the story flows with just the perfect balance of adventure,mystery, and romance.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure, Sep 1 2002

By

Xan - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Hand of the Goddess (Hardcover)

I would recomend Pierce's work for any young girls or women growing up. Pierce's characters are believable, full of morals and wise words that will not soon leave the minds of young readers -- or those who are young at heart.

To any out there who believe certain content of Song of the Lioness is inappropriate, I have a few words. What Pierce is showing is as realistic as any journal of a teenage drug addict: fantasy it may be, but these pages show the trials and tribulations any person groing up in this world faces. Hate, love, gain, loss, sterotypes, hurt, pain, joy and understanding are shown as our protagonist grows from child to young woman. Sexual desires are a part of maturing -- a part of maturity often left out.

I understand any parent or indivivual's thoughts about this. Though, I must remind all that children are no where near naive as society claims them to be. Many avid Pierce fans read this at tender ages, and I prefer ask no one to convince others what they or their children read by printing "Ages 15-16 and up" or "For young adults". Censorship is no one's friend.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 207 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 246 reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Not my favoutire book ever but one of the many I enjoyed
I'd like to start by saying, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Wanna know what's so funny? Read this:

"SHAME on the author for irresponsibly implying otherwise to scores of... Read more

Published on Aug 24 2007 by AlyssAlsa

4.0 out of 5 stars In the Hands of the Goddess
Tamora Pierce is an excellent writer. She pulls in the desire of young Alanna, who wants to become the first lady knight in a century. Read more

Published on Mar 23 2004 by lifefire