This is the 4th book in the Alanna the Lioness series, and while I LOVE the series, my big caution for reader's advisory is that although Alanna starts off as a 10-year-old in the first book, by the 4th book, she's about 18 or so and having sex (not graphic descriptions, but it's mentioned). So I hesitate when recommending it to kids, especially if I think the parents might be at all conservative because if you read the 1st book, you'll want to read all 4, and in my opinion, it's best if kids are at least within a few years of the age of the main character(s) of a book. The tricky part is often convincing a 16-year-old (or older) to read anything featuring 10-year-olds. Much easier to get adults to read the series, really. Well, YA fiction fans, at any rate.