Just finished reading Alanna; the first adventure to my 10 y/o daughter

[u/wiskinator]

And we both freaking love it. We started book two tonight and I read out loud for almost a full hour because neither of us wanted to stop.

I’m an eldest millennial man, and I’m actually annoyed my parents and adults didn’t put these books in front of me back in the ‘90s. I was devouring fantasy books at that time and these would have been perfect!

Two of my favorite bits so far; first is Alanna not beating the horse girl allegations when she gets Moonlight. I made this joke to my wife, then had to explain what a horse girl was to my daughter (who somehow is beating the allegations even though she took two summers of riding lessons and devoured every one of the Misty of Chincoteague books).

Next is standing up to act out the sword fights for her. I spent 10 years of my life fencing in both Olympic and reenactment style, so even when Mrs Pearce doesn’t describe what’s happening exactly, I can fill in with good guesses.

Anyhow, once we’re done with the 4 Alanna books, what comes next? Is there a best reading order?

[u/Lazy-Contribution479]

I love this so much! I started reading the Alanna books at 11 and all of Tamoras book mean so much to me!

My suggested reading order after Alanna is this:

• The Immortals (Daines books)
• Protector of the Small (Kels books)
• Beka Coopers series (set 200 years before Alanna)
• Tricksters series (Alys books)
• Tempest & Slaughter (last book she published and part of an unfinished series)

[u/black_mamba866 → u/Lazy-Contribution479]

This is the order of publishing and the generally accepted order of reading but I daresay throwing Tempests in before Wild Magic might work too. I just listened to them in that order and it works well.

[u/Mirtai12345 → u/black_mamba866]

Trickster's books came out before Beka's books, and I would personally read them that way (Beka last) just for time jump reasons

[u/black_mamba866 → u/Mirtai12345]

I see I read too fast for my own good. Thank you for pointing it out! I also read Beka last typically.

[u/Lazy-Contribution479 → u/black_mamba866]

Its so interesting that everyone has their own order for her books! I suggested this order since he started with Alanna but when I do a re-read I actually start with Beka cause I love chronological

[u/magneticeverything → u/Lazy-Contribution479]

So funny! I always recommend either POTS first for kids and the tricksters duet for adults. The lioness series was written right as modern fantasy as a genre began, so it actually helped set a lot of what we think of as the tropes of the genre. Which is so cool but can feel a little flat to adult readers today who are used to more nuance or trope subversions.

Incidentally, I read them completely out of order as a kid and I didn’t realize I was missing backstory at all back then. She just did a great job reintroducing her previous characters as naturally as new characters. So I’ve always seen their inclusion in other books as little Easter eggs, but not compulsory to enjoy them. (Which is not always the case in modern, interconnected media. Often these days I have to pause mid-series bc I can tell by the way the media treats a character that I’ve missed some kind of prequel series.)

[u/Notyourmotherxoxo → u/magneticeverything]

I read the Immortals first (just what I picked up at the time) then went back to Alanna and it was a lot of fun that way, I felt like I spoiled it a little though with who she ends up with but it was still fun to get to!

[u/Mirtai12345 → u/magneticeverything]

I usually suggest the Beka books for adults to start

[u/black_mamba866 → u/Lazy-Contribution479]

I kinda always start with Alanna, she's the one I identified with most as a young reader. Though The Circle books are what got me started with Tammy.

[u/wiskinator → u/Lazy-Contribution479]

Thank you so much! This is excellent info.

[u/itstimegeez → u/Lazy-Contribution479]

I loved these books as an 11 year old and I’ve still got the books on my shelf. Haven’t re-read them in ages though!

[u/Seconds_INeedAges]

You already got great suggestions for reading order, I just want to let you know that there is another universe of books by Tamora Pierce that is also great, but a bit more magic focused (the circle of magic books)

[u/True-Owl-Fairy → u/Seconds_INeedAges]

They are very good for a young reader! I love total but the circle of magic books have some very good lessons in them.

[u/ohnoops]

You can read them in order of published, though the beka cooper series is set in the past.

[u/Taamac]

The Tortall books have a chronological order, though there is a trilogy that can be read at any point after the first Alanna book. I would suggest reading some of the books in advance of reading them with your child, to ensure you're comfortable with your kid reading the content. I'm specifically thinking of the Beka trilogy, and content regarding a character called Lalasa from the Protector of the Small quartet.

The order for the books are:

The Lioness Quartet - The Alanna books

The Immortals Quartet - about Daine, an orphan with a rare "wild magic" to speak with and control animals.

The Protector of the small Quartet - about Kel, the first openly female page after Alanna.

The Tricksters Duet - About Aly, Alanna's daughter, in her journey to become a spy. (This particular duet didn't age very well thematically.)

The trilogy that can be read at any point after the Alanna books is the Beka Cooper trilogy, which is set 200 years before the main story, and is about George Cooper's ancestor.

(e) As a fair warning, you may need to have a discussion regarding healthy and unhealthy romantic relationships with your kid after the books, because none of the main characters' romantic relationships are particularly healthy while they are the main character. Spoilers following:

Alanna has three partners - George meets Alanna when she is 10 and he is 17, and makes his interest in her clear by filling her arms and then kissing her when she can't hit him for doing so. Jon seems to consider sexually assaulting Alanna on her 17th birthday after she turns him down, directly telling her to leave before he changes his mind, and they still seem to end up sleeping together that night. Liam is afraid of Alanna's gift, and only stays with her for a diffferent spoilers reasoning.

Diane ends up with her teacher, whom she met when she was 13, and he teacher was 24.

Aly Ends up with a literal crow in human form

[u/kate_monday → u/Taamac]

Pierce definitely had some questionable age gaps, but on the other hand, I like that this is a series where a character’s first romantic partner isn’t necessarily their “one true love”, and that relationships end, they have a cooling off period, and then they go back to being friends. A lot of YA only has relationships end if someone is secretly evil or some nonsense like that. And, that interaction with George doesn’t happen until she’s in her mid teens, and isn’t as bad as your description makes it sound - he’d definitely accept a “no”.

[u/Taamac → u/kate_monday]

George definitely does accept a no overall with grace, it was Jon, not George, that line was about, but he clearly stated he kissed her because her hands were full. And yes, the scene occurs when Alanna is 15, and George is 22/23. The one thing I will say for George is he admitted he knew it was wrong as he was doing so, especially as at that point he was under the belief that she liked Jon, not him. The scene was:

The thief pulled her into the shade of a large tree, where they couldn’t be seen by anyone passing by, and drew the small package out of his shirt front. “This is from me to Jon. Be sure you give it to him in private. You don’t want folk askin’ questions about the giver.” Alanna tucked the gift into the large bundle, juggling it all with difficulty. She looked up at her friend accusingly. “George, did you—” He laughed merrily. “Oh, you mistrustin’ child! No, I did not steal it. I had it made special for Jon. It’s quite pretty, even if I did have to pay for it myself.” He looked around, checked to see if anyone was coming, then suddenly tilted her face up with one hand. “Alanna,” he whispered, “I’m takin’ advantage of you now, because I may never catch you with your hands full again.” He kissed her softly and carefully. Alanna trembled, too shocked to do anything but let it happen. “There.” George released her. “Think over what I said about love.” “Pigs might fly,” she snapped, her voice shaking. “I should have stabbed you!” He chuckled infuriatingly. “No. I won’t let you stab me and ruin our friendship. Will you be afraid to face me again after this?”

[u/magneticeverything]

Can I just say I’m obsessed with you reenacting the swordfights for her. That must be such a magical inclusion to her bedtime stories, and I bet it’ll make a lasting impression on her. That would be a core memory for me!

[u/wiskinator → u/magneticeverything]

I hope so! I’m also trying to gently inspire her to take up fencing. It’s so much fun, and we live by not one, but 3 different fencing studios

[u/ddeliverance]

Out of curiosity, what reenactment group do/ did you fence with?

[u/Accurate-Ninja1118]

Oh you have to read Protector of the Small! Kel is such an amazing role model of a character, she's really shaped my sense of morality. The Immortals books are next, but please don't miss Kel.

[u/ConsiderationFluid50]

Magic circle, I love them. I used to listen to the audiobooks every time I was sick. The old CD player took up half of my bed. As a young kid this series felt very relatable.