Book Blast From the Past

I've decided to try a new feature on the occasional Saturday, which will feature some of my favorite older YA books. This feature was inspired by a post from Eleni at La Femme Readers. My goal for this new feature is to go back to the books that I loved as a pre-teen/teen, and write about why I still enjoy them.

The Alanna Series by Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce's novels take up an entire shelf on my bookcase, and I thought she would be the perfect author to start this series. The Song of the Lioness series, or "The Alanna Series" as I call it, was first published in 1983, and every so often I see a new edition with some new covers. It's been over 10 years since I first read the Song of the Lioness series at the suggestion of my friend Sam, and I still own all my original paperback copies.

What makes this series, and author so great? Well, Pierce has a ton of great female heroines. You won't find any damsels in distress here. Alanna has to disguise herself as a boy throughout the series, because women aren't allowed to train to become knights. She proves, however, that she's just as strong as any of the boys she trains with.

Pierce also creates a great love interest. In the Song of the Lioness series, there are two very different, but equally interesting, love interests. They are the prince, Jon, and the rogue, George. I think I enjoyed their characters because Pierce wrote them with personalities. You won't find any bland "Disney princes" here (seriously, almost all of the early Prince Chamings looked the same). They both carry on lives that don't revolve around Alanna, and I still appreciate that.

Finally, these books display great storytelling. There are over 18 books that feature the Tortall universe, and I still want more! While almost all of the characters have four books dedicated to their stories, I never felt like the stories were exhausted.

Are there any older YA books that you love?

I'm also interested in people doing guest posts about their favorite books. So shoot me an email, or leave a comment if you'd be interested in doing so.