Song of the Lioness

Tamora Pierce is one of my favorite authors. Most of her series are quartets, and she has eight series so far. She has two worlds in which her stories lie and the first land is called Tortal. In Tortal there are real gods. Tortal is run by the king and knights who are loyal to him. In the first series, Alanna's Father wants to send her to the City of the Gods to learn how to be a proper lady. Her father wants to send her twin brother to become a knight. Neither want that kind of life, so her twin brother forges their father's writing to send them to opposite places. He wants to become a wizard at the City of the Gods, and she wants to become a knight. The only problem is that girls can't become knights, so she has to hid her identity. While this series goes through the problem of puberty, it is appropriate. (Yes, there is a prince and there is a little romance for those who like that)