With the 1983 publication of Alanna: the First Adventure (Atheneum), readers first met the memorable character Alanna, a strong heroine who poses as a boy in order to become a knight. Her story continued throughout the four volumes of “The Song of the Lioness Quartet” and gave Alanna a solid seat in the pantheon of commanding female protagonists, both within the fantasy genre and beyond. Twenty years later, Tamora Pierce delights Alanna’s legions of fans and welcomes a new audience with this introduction of Aly, Alanna’s 16-year-old daughter. In a deliciously satisfying case of “the shoe’s on the other foot now,” Aly pursues her dreams of becoming a field agent spy despite her mother’s objections. Often absent from home in her demanding job as King’s Champion, Alanna is frustrated by Aly’s choices and seeming lack of direction. When they are together, mother and daughter often clash. As Aly says, “You try being the daughter of a legend. It’s a great deal like work.” Behaving like the adolescent she is, Aly plans an unauthorized solo sailing trip, rationalizing that her parents will be pleased to welcome her back upon her return. Of course, nothing goes as planned, as shortly after setting out on her journey, Aly is captured by pirates and transported to a distant island, where she is sold as a slave to a noble family. Plenty of opportunity for spying soon presents itself, and while Aly discovers that she has a natural gift for the work, she also learns some hard lessons about growing up and the consequences of her impetuous behavior. Along with political intrigue and action-packed battles, Aly’s adventure includes a manipulative trickster god who intervenes at moments of crisis and her budding romance with Nawat, a crow who can assume human form. Nawat’s attempts to woo Aly with offerings of choice grubs and other avian-minded courting strategies provide prime moments of comedy. Despite a dense opening section explaining the story’s setting, this fast-paced tale of adventure is readily accessible to newcomers to Pierce’s fantasy realm. (Ages 12–16)

When you gamble with kingdoms, all bets are off. Legends are born in this thrilling and New York Times bestselling spy saga from the fantasy author who is legend herself: Tamora Pierce.

Aly is from a family known for great deeds. She is the daughter of Alanna, the famed knight and King’s Champion of Tortall. But even though she is bold and brave, like her mother, her true talents lie on her father’s side, in the art of spying.
 
When Aly is captured by pirates and sold as a slave to an exiled royal family in the faraway Copper Isles, she strikes a bargain with the trickster god. If she can keep young noblewomen Sarai and Dove safe for the summer, then he will return Aly to her family. The task should be simple, but Sarai and Dove are anything but. It’s a time of murderous plotting at court, and Aly will need to rely on her training and the insights of a strange young man named Nawat to survive in a world where trust can cost you your life.
 
“Tamora Pierce’s books shaped me not only as a young writer but also as a young woman. She is a pillar, an icon, and an inspiration. Cracking open one of her marvelous novels always feels like coming home.”
—SARAH J. MAAS, #1 New York Times bestselling author
 
“Tamora Pierce didn’t just blaze a trail. Her heroines cut a swath through the fantasy world with wit, strength, and savvy. Her stories still lead the vanguard today. Pierce is the real lioness, and we’re all just running to keep pace.”
—LEIGH BARDUGO, #1 New York Times bestselling author