3.5 ⭐️ (rounding up)

Thank you NetGalley and Abrams Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I certainly enjoyed this graphic novel. The story was interesting with great progress on the plot. The characters were funny and kept me interested with learning who they were. I really liked George Cooper, King of Thieves.

The art was absolutely beautiful. The details in the last chapter were amazing, even if it wasn’t in colour yet!

I didn’t give this graphic novel a high rating because I feel like it lacked something but I’m not too sure what. I’d definitely be investing into finding what happens next though. The story is only just beginning…

I enjoyed this book when I read it years ago. I am not sure the graphic novel worked for me. There is much which lent itself to the graphic format but the book I remembered was not here. It should be an excellent introduction to Tamora Pierce’s writing which may not have otherwise reached the modern readership of 11 - 13 year olds. I also hope that it does appeal to both boys and girls as it is very much a book which emphasises friendship and equality above romance and bullying those you perceive to be weaker than yourself.

I love the original story. It was a big influence in what I read to this day. I was grateful to see most of the original included in the new adaptation. The most important pieces are there. My one concern is this is not really suited or adapted well for eBook version. The print will work out, but the parts that go across pages do not work with an eBook.

Just buy it. A wonderful adaptation of one of the best books ever written. I like that it felt a little more complete then the First Test graphic novel.

Beautifully written and even more beautifully illustrated! I hadn’t heard of the original text, but am so grateful to have been given an arc from NetGalley to read and review the graphic novel! I really loved the character dynamics and it reminded me of Arya from GOT and Nimona as well - both amazing heroines and stories, so I feel confident grouping these three together.

**e-ARC received in exchange for an honest review.**

I adored this book as a child. I am so glad that, Song of the Lioness has been adapt to a Graphic Novel. The artwork perfectly brings to life the characters and the setting of Song of the Lioness. I had forgotten how well this story captures the coming of age experience of strong, independent girls. Song of the Lioness is a great exploration into identity, belonging, and how the perception of others affects our own self image. So many great experiences are explored!

The modern cover looks amazing, I am excited to share this book with my students once it comes out. I am certain that it will be a hit!

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I with the ARC had been in color! I loved every bit of the story. The art was great even in black and white. I always love a fierce female protagonist, and Alanna had to break practically every societal rule of her world to have a chance at becoming who and what she wanted to be. There are also several strong, open-minded, supportive men and boys in this story that aid Alanna on her journey. Notably absent, though, is her own father. I feel that, girl!

This is a great read! Should be a big hit with the middle school crowd!

The art in this book really brings out the classic fantasy feel of the story. I love having a newer edition of classics as a way for kids and teens to be able to interact with classic titles. I think fantasy also lends well to graphic novels like this one since the magic can be truly visualized.

Another graphic novels adaptation based on the books of the incomparable Tamora Pierce. I want to love these adaptations as much I love the originals but I always feel that some of the depth is taken out of stories. I do think they will do well the young graphic novel readers in my community.

It was so fun going back to this world again. I am so happy that this adaptation will hopefully get younger people to explore Tortall again. I am thankful I was able to read this ARC and enjoy the story and characters again. Since it was an arc, unfortunately, the art was unfinished with no color on most pages and no shading on some. I could not experience the full effect of the graphic novel with some details on who was who that was lost in the process.

Because this is an adaptation, some details of the original book were left out, especially some of the side characters. I thought the story flowed well with the book getting into the meat of Alanna's story. There was a freshness and a new angle that felt more modern than the original. I look forward to seeing if they do anything different with Alanna's gender identity because I know Tamora has said something about that in modern times. The art was well done from what there was of it in the arc and I cannot wait to keep reading!

I am a huge lover of Alanna's story, and read it originally during my 6th or 7th grade year. I was so happy to see that Alanna and her story have been turned into a graphic novel to try and reach a modern audience. I am so excited for all the children who will get to meet Alanna, Faithful, Geroge, Jonathan, and everyone else!

I was so excited to read Alanna: The First Adventure in graphic novel form, and it absolutely did not disappoint! This adaptation is true to the original, capturing all the magic and strength of Tamora Pierce’s story. The art is crisp, beautifully rendered, and faithful to the world and characters I love. Revisiting Alanna’s journey in this new format was wonderful.

Though I’m a little biased as a longtime fan, I tried to view it from a new reader’s perspective. The story does an excellent job setting up the world and storyline, making it accessible for anyone just discovering Alanna’s adventures/Tortall. I’m already counting down to the next installment!

a promising start to the series. This first volume set up the characters and the world well, I am interested to see where the story goes from here. I am not 100% sure on this but it appears there might be trans? genderfluid? representation with the main character Alanna. She is a girl and at certain times doesn't mind being called one but Alanna also binds her chest and despairs at other parts of womanhood. Looking forward to discovering more about this world as Alanna discovers more about who they want to be.

I have been a lifelong Tamora Pierce fan and reader since the mid-90s when I first read Song of the Lioness. Alanna is one of my favorite characters of all time. Seriously, I have a sword named after her! So I was very much looking forward to diving back into Tortall, this time in graphic novel form.

Overall, the story matches the original, although the pacing is scattered for the first 100 pages. The original book was a comparable 241-272 pages long, depending on the printing. The graphic novel is 256 pages. However, you lose a lot of the early character development and exposition in those first 100 pages, which was a shame. This was where I usually fall in love with Alanna - she's feisty, determined, and experiencing very real and valid emotions. But the graphic novel skips a lot of that to touch very briefly on the major plot points that will become more relevant in later books (Ralon, menstruation/womanhood, meeting George, and setting up the Bazhir context). George is a blip in this book, which also came as a surprise, given how important his character is in Alanna's history and exploring the early days in the capital. When the novel starts to focus on her knighthood educators (Myles, Jon, the trip to Persopolis), the pacing recovers and it feels like a cohesive story again, building panel by panel up to the big battle at the Black City. The ending is slightly abrupt, closing shortly after the battle, but it doesn't disrupt the overall flow of the graphic novel.

I don't feel like I can accurately give a proper review of the artwork in this book, which is a shame. The format which was shared with me was small, only in black & white instead of full color, and the design work wasn't finished yet so there were regular inconsistencies between draft images and the final panels. From what I saw of more finished panels, I think with full color this graphic novel will be an engaging adventure for young readers. But if you're looking for depth of plot and significant character development or backstory, I'd recommend reading the original text instead.

Holy nostalgia batman! If you're like me and lived on Tamora Pierce's work growing up, you will love this adaptation! It keeps true to the story while also embracing a little more diversity within the characters. You can tell it was adapted by a writer and artist who truly love the original books and characters and did the story justice. I'm excited to see how the finished product looks in colour. And I hope it does well so we can see the rest of Alanna's story adapted as well.

Thank you to Abrams Kids and Netgalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I cannot wait to add this to my bookshelf!

This was a really interesting read, I enjoy graphic novels greatly and found this one great to follow along.

Fantastic graphic adaptation of Tamora Pierce's classic novel. I felt it stayed true to the story, hitting all the important stuff. I was not bothered by the lack of full color but could appreciate the black and white pictures.

I LOVE the Song of the Lioness series and grew up reading Tamora Pierce. I'm so excited to see this adapted into a graphic version and hope it will captivate a new generation of readers like it did me! Highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

it seems very fitting that this was my 100th read of 2024. i wish this arc had waited a little longer to be distributed since the art was definitely not final, and being a graphic novel that impacts the experience a lot. still, from what i can tell i did really enjoy the art styling, and am excited to see it in color. especially since alanna's hair and eyes are so important!! i think this was a great adaptation - it is always hard translating a story from one medium to another, and i think the team did a great job here. i am definitely looking forward to the next volumes in the series, and will be crossing my fingers that since we now have Kel and Alanna in graphic novel form, we get the other Tortall series as well! and maybe even the Emelan books???

A classic. I’m excited to see what it looks like in colour. I do really miss Tortall and the characters, though Alanna isn’t my favourite of the series, it still holds a special place in my heart.