Song of the Lioness, a fantasy quartet by Tamora Pierce,includes four excellent books: Alanna: The First Adventure; In the Hand of theGoddess; The Woman Who Rides Like A Man and Lioness Rampant, all providing athrilling read.

This series chronicles a woman's struggles to be acceptedin a world of men. As a young girl, Alanna desperately wishes to become a knight.There is one problem: The last warrior maidens in her country died over a centuryago. At the age of ten she switches places with her twin brother, Thom, anddisguises herself as a boy. She goes to the palace to begin her training and noone guesses her great secret. After many struggles, she wins her shield andbecomes a Knight of the Realm of Tortall. After revealing her true identity, sheplans to leave, not realizing how many friends she has made. Alone, she sets outto begin her adventures.

Alanna is a strong-willed, tough woman with acomplicated path to follow. She has been chosen by the gods to shift the mightybalance and change the world forever. To do this, she must overcome three greatfears: the sorcerer duke who threatens her prince's life; the ordeal ofknighthood; and, most of all, her fear of love.

From beginning to end,this series is more than a story of knights in shining armor, but a struggle of ayoung woman to prove herself to a man, a nation and herself.