Young at Heart: Happy belated 25th birthday, Alanna!

I was catching up on all my favorite authors’ blogs when I ran across this:

Happy Birthday, Alanna! (Tamora Pierce’s Livejournal)

It’s been 25 years since Alanna: The First Adventure was published, and what a 25 years it’s been… nowadays strong heroines dominate the shelves but it wasn’t always so. Then right around the time Alanna picked up her first shield, Harry (or Angharad) of The Blue Sword also started her sword training and signaled a change in young adult fantasy publishing.

I still remember the first time I picked up Alanna: The First Adventure - I was in fifth grade and read through the entire Song of the Lioness Quartet in one big gulp. I loved Alanna, with her fierce independent spirit, and how she refused to let society’s norms define her role. But what I love even more is how Alanna paved the way for future heroines who didn’t need to hide their gender and who didn’t need “Speshull Powers,” in the words of the wonderful Sherwood Smith, whom I interviewed for this post. Her book, Crown Duel, is a prime example of this - the women and men fight together, and there are no eyebrows raised - it’s just a common, everyday occurrence.

In any case, I salute you, Tamora Pierce and Alanna!

If you’d like to read the interview I conducted with Sherwood Smith, check back tomorrow - we discussed how the role of women have evolved in fantasy literature.