#26 in Middle grade
In the Hand of the Goddess
- 240
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“In the Hand of the Goddess” is a brisk, hopeful second volume about a girl disguised as a boy to earn her knighthood. It follows Alanna of Trebond through her years as a squire, and its heart is a heroine who refuses to be told what she cannot do. It reads quickly, and some adults who rarely pick up books for young readers enjoy it too. Begin with the first volume.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
In the Hand of the Goddess is a 1984 fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the second in a series of four books, The Song of the Lioness. It details the squire- and knighthood of Alanna of Trebond, who has hidden her real sex in order to become a knight.
Reading order · The Song of the Lioness
Full order & progress →- Alanna: The First AdventureStart here
8.28.2 / 10 - In the Hand of the GoddessThis book
8.18.1 / 10 - The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
8.08.0 / 10 - Lioness Rampant
8.18.1 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 264 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 64% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Middle grade average of 8.0. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.5 | 24 | 9% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 240 | 91% |
Frequently asked
What age is In the Hand of the Goddess for?
In the Hand of the Goddess sits on the Middle grade shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 8–12. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 240 pages — shorter than 98% of the ranked books in Middle grade.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Middle grade — with scores between 7.5 and 8.6, closest to this book.
