Are You the Heroine of a Tamora Pierce Novel?

Mostly A’s: You were an avid reader of Tamora Pierce Novels

As a youth you found yourself deeply drawn to stories about tomboyish girls pretending to be boys so they could become sword-wielding knights; as an adult, you are practical, helpful, loyal, grounded and also gay. As you navigate through modern life, patiently leading your team meetings and being the only one of your siblings who responds to your parents in the family group chat, part of you will always be waiting for the opportunity to rescue the vulnerable in your life with a medieval weapon in hand.

Mostly B’s: You are the chaotic good foil to the heroine of a Tamora Pierce novel

Your methods may be suspect but the ends always justify the means; you have the morals of a pirate baron and a heart of gold. You’re set up to be an unlikely ally to our pure of heart but perhaps overly conventional heroine… or perhaps even more??? 👀

Mostly C’s: You are a sidekick to the heroine of a Tamora Pierce novel

You’re loyal, helpful, and brave — taking initiative may not be your strong point, but that’s fine, as there’s always an iconoclastic, headstrong yet grounded soft butch with some leather burnished armor ready to tell you what to do. Are we climbing a watch tower? Standing up to the ill-intentioned monied heir to a treacherous barony? The important thing is you will survive to the end of this series via your close association with the protagonist.

Mostly D’s: You are the heroine of a Tamora Pierce novel!

Your development as a person has been defined heavily by an intense loyalty to the feudal nation-state and/or horrific childhood trauma; regardless of the details, the only way forward for you is the path of the sword. Are you gay or do you just want very short hair for practical purposes and feel most comfortable interacting with men through hand to hand combat or intensely platonic comradeship scenarios? Who’s to say!

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Rachel

Originally from Boston, MA, Rachel now lives in the Midwest. Topics dear to her heart include bisexuality, The X-Files and tacos. Her favorite Ciara video is probably "Ride," but if you're only going to watch one, she recommends "Like A Boy." You can follow her on twitter and instagram.

Rachel has written 1142 articles for us.

47 Comments

  1. this is VERY good, I feel VERY affirmed in my place as the backup companion to the hero, and “taking initiative may not be your strong point, but that’s fine, as there’s always an iconoclastic, headstrong yet grounded soft butch with some leather burnished armor ready to tell you what to do” is truly #goals

  2. I mean if we’re going to get PEDANTIC (why not?) “C” is Dane, “D” is Kel, and “B” and “A” are combinations of Alanna and Alianne…

    • B is George. Meh. I was soooo disappointed when he arrived on the scene, although he was better than that wanker Jonathan.

      I’m almost equally split between A/B, with D’s aesthetic.

  3. and I feel Seen in this chili’s tonight… specifically by the Goddess and the Crooked God

  4. Goddess bless you for this content. I got “sidekick,” which is fair. I’d like to be Kel, but, in my heart of hearts, I am Futch Neal. Catch me supporting my heroic friends, pining after pretty girls, sassing authority figures, and complaining snarkily about the things I signed up to do.

    • Oooh I would hang with Futch Neal, I love a pretty boi with dramatic airs and a dash of altruism

      • I think technically that’s Aly with the shaved head, but Kel’s got plenty of overlap!

  5. THIS MADE MY MONDAY! I’m only ever describing myself as “practical, helpful, loyal, grounded and also gay” forever and always and am vindicated in rereading these delicious books as an adult.

  6. This is the content I have always needed from autostraddle and never known until now! WEEK. MADE.

  7. This is PERFECT, thank you! Tamora Pierce’s books legit saved my life as an 11 year old. I loved those heroines but never quite picked up a broadsword myself, so it’s nice to get mostly A’s and still have a place for me in her pantheon.

  8. Also I’ve been meaning to write a piece called “the unbearable almost-queerness of Alanna the lioness” for years, so lmk if you want more Tamora Pierce content…

  9. Help, I am almost evenly split between A’s and C’s with like 2 D’s for seasoning.

    Also, this is a godly quizlet and I give you much laud.

  10. “As a youth you found yourself deeply drawn to stories about tomboyish girls pretending to be boys so they could become sword-wielding knights; as an adult, you are practical, helpful, loyal, grounded and also gay.” Exceedingly accurate!

    Still my #1 favorite author, still waiting for someone irl to recognize my Kel tattoo.

  11. I can’t wait for my wife to wake up so I can tell her I’m a chaotic good pirate baron and have her tell me she already knew that

  12. So I lived on these books growing up and then having gone back and read them post high school – can we just acknowledge the serious racism involved in some of these? The Trickster’s Choice books have an awful, awful white savior situation going on with I think unintentional but still really fucked up condescension to the people of color in the story who have been doing the work for years.

    • I love Tamora Pierce with the fire of a thousand suns, but Trickster’s Queen is… difficult this way. Very difficult. And don’t get me started on Battle Magic.

  13. I liked Tamora Pierce’s butch heroines as a kid despite not being butch at all myself. In retrospect, how much I liked YA books with female protagonists while not, in general, liking ones with male protagonists should have been a clue to the whole trans thing.

    • Funny, I always got really disappointed at the scenes where they “scrubbed up nice” in a frock, although there was less of that as the books went on.

      And as an adult, since I really appreciate femme women rather than feeling threatened because I can’t conform to feminine ideals, I think it’s cool that Alanna likes a nice big sword to swing around and nice big earrings ditto.

      • Those never bothered me, probably just because I would have been really happy to be able to have that experience of scrubbing up nice in a frock? Likewise, have a nice big sword and earrings too :).

  14. Can I still count as a Tamora Pierce heroine if my response to most situations is just fiber crafts? I was always a big Circle of Magic fan.

  15. Yesssss for Tamora Pierce!! Kel’s books got me through some crappy times as a kid and go strong female role models!

  16. More Tamora Pierce content always especially making them all the more queer!!! (especially as I wait for more episodes of the Tortall Recall podcast to give me my doses of that..)

    I hold Kel responsible for me silently repeating to myself that I am stone, or envisioning the surface of my favorite lake in times of stress/anxiety…

  17. I am pleased but not surprised to learn I am equal parts Heroine and Chaotic Good Foil. Now I just want to reread all my Tortall books for the twentieth time!

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