What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1)
This topic is about Alanna
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SOLVED: Children's/YA > SOLVED. YA Fantasy read 1995 Girl attends all male wizarding school in a city. [s]

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message 1: by Tim (new)

Tim Hansen | 6 comments This was a young adult fantasy I read around 1995. It was about a girl who was discovered to have magic powers and went to an all male sorcery school in a city, where she befriends a peasant boy. There is intrigue as only men practice magic. That's all I remember!


message 2: by SamSpayedPI (last edited Mar 15, 2020 02:45PM) (new)

SamSpayedPI | 2314 comments It's probably not Dragonfly by Ursula K. Le Guin, because it was a 1. a short story (well, maybe more of a novella) and 2. originally published in 1998 (Legends), but I'll throw it out there just in case. It was included in Tales from Earthsea (2001).

Review with plot description: https://thechannelofmattries.blogspot...


message 3: by Tim (last edited Mar 15, 2020 04:35PM) (new)

Tim Hansen | 6 comments Thanks for trying! It is certainly a very similar type of book to Earthsea, as I'm sure I would have read this book after Earthsea and was looking for something similar. For some reason I have magical potions stuck in my mind. And going to live in an old fashioned fortress type city, perhaps surrounded by sand? I think it was also a series of books, rather than a novella. It's so frustrating! Thanks again.


message 4: by Ann (new) - added it

Ann | 166 comments Okay so probably not, but just to be on the safe side because it's so easy to muddle details of one book with details of another, I wanted to doublecheck that it's not the Lioness Rampant books by Tamora Pierce that starts with Alanna: The First Adventure. Granted, it's not a sorcery school, and there are no potions, but the main character is a girl going to an all-boy's school, she does have magic powers, makes friends with the peasant/thief George, and a key plot point is a weird city/fortress/thing in the desert.


Sebastian | 28 comments The genre sounds very differnt, but the description sounds similar to Equal Rites.


message 6: by Tim (new)

Tim Hansen | 6 comments Thank you everyone for taking the time to help me find the book. The book is definitely the Lioness Rampant series. As soon as I heard the name George I knew it was the right book as that rang a bell, and then found a map online from the original book and remembered the country name of Tortall. Thanks again!


message 7: by Kris (last edited Mar 16, 2020 04:13PM) (new)

Kris | 55041 comments Mod
Great. Glad you found your book series, Tim. Here's the link for the first book - Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (re: message #4).


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