In the Hand of the Goddess (Tamora Pierce)

Author Biography

Tamora Pierce has written numerous renowned fantasy novels, set in either the "Tortall" universe or the "Circle" universe." In 2013 she received the Margaret. A. Edwards Award for her body of work.

Published By: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Year: 1984

ISBN: 0-679-80111-1

Reading Level: Grades 7 and up

Reader's Annotation:

Still disguised as a boy, Alanna continues the journey toward knighthood she began in Alanna: The First Adventure. Can she still keep her secret while facing war, romance, and a deadly enemy?

Plot  Summary:

Fifteen-year-old Alanna of Trebond, alias Alan, is squire to Prince Jonathan, one of the few people who know she's a girl. One night in the woods, she meets a black kitten whom she names Faithful, and whose language she finds she can understand. She then receives a visit from the Great Mother Goddess, who reveals that she, Alanna, is one of her Chosen.

Back at court, Alanna soon faces various trials. War brews between Tortall and its neighbor Tusaine, sending her into her first battle. Her resolve never to marry is tested as well – first when her friend George Cooper confesses his love for her, and later as her bond with Jonathan slowly evolves into a secret romance. Meanwhile, she dreads the terrifying magical Ordeal that all aspiring knights face at age eighteen. But above all, she fears and loathes the king’s nephew, Duke Roger – a skilled magician whose charisma charms the whole court, but whom Alanna suspects wants to see the royal family dead.

Critical Evaluation:

The second book of the Song of the Lioness quartet is an episodic one, character-driven rather than plot-driven, but has no shortage of action, magic or internal drama. As the former child heroine of Alanna: The First Adventure becomes a young adult, she faces the horrors of war, treachery among her allies, the harrowing ritual that knighthood requires, and confrontation with a powerful enemy who threatens both her and the entire kingdom. At the same time she experiences the turmoil of sexual awakening, begins to crave the feminine clothes and graces she once disdained, and struggles between her desire to be a knight-errant and her love for the court and the people in it.

Some readers might groan at details that feel clichéd by today’s standards: the heroine personally proclaimed a Chosen One by a goddess, a magically sapient cat that talks to her alone, etc. Still more readers will cringe at the now-dated gender dynamics in the “romantic” scenes, as Jonathan and George press their feelings on an unwilling Alanna, display irritating jealousy and overprotectiveness, and repeatedly invade her personal space and kiss her without consent. Still, both young men genuinely care for and, at heart, respect her, and her attraction to both and eventual (implied) loss of virginity to Jonathan are handled without any slut-shaming. More importantly, despite some wavering, she ultimately lets no romance interfere with her personal goals. She remains a skilled, independent, courageous warrior, who grapples with realistic fears and foibles but never lets them defeat her. Lovers of fantasy, coming-of-age tales and feminism who liked Alanna: The First Adventure will find plenty to enjoy in this installment too.

Curriculum Ties:

•Fantasy worlds

•Feminism

Challenge Issues:

•Mild profanity
•Violence

•Nudity

•Sexual references

•Drugging
•May-December romance

Why This Book?

While uncomfortably dated in some ways, this book is still a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good sword-and-sorcery fantasy with a strong, relatable heroine.