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First Test (Protector of the Small #1)

by Tamora Pierce (Goodreads Author)

4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 · rating details · 21,898 ratings · 567 reviews

In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits females to train for knighthood.

Paperback, 256 pages

Published May 23rd 2000 by Laurel Leaf (first published June 7th 1999)

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Jul 18, 2008 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: basically anyone.

Recommended to Allison by: fond memories.

Shelves: tamora-pierce, 1owned, genre-high-fantasy

Recently I decided to reread all of Tamora Pierce's books, because, well, it's been too long since I read them. For her Lioness Quartet, Circle of Magic books, and The Immortals series, I was refreshing my memory, but with the Protector of the Small series, it was almost like reading them for the first time. I read this series only once, when I was a preteen, and I had honestly forgotten just how much I love Kel.

At first glance, the story of Keladry of Mindalen seems like a rewrite of Tamora Pie...more Recently I decided to reread all of Tamora Pierce's books, because, well, it's been too long since I read them. For her Lioness Quartet, Circle of Magic books, and The Immortals series, I was refreshing my memory, but with the Protector of the Small series, it was almost like reading them for the first time. I read this series only once, when I was a preteen, and I had honestly forgotten just how much I love Kel.

At first glance, the story of Keladry of Mindalen seems like a rewrite of Tamora Pierce's first series, The Lioness Quartet, which features a spunky girl named Alanna who dresses as a boy in order to train as a knight. When I read the books years ago, I loved them, and saw Alanna as a hero, but now, as a college freshman, I see her character a little differently. In my opinion, Alanna chooses to be a knight as an alternative to learning to be a lady. Although she is a tomboy, she does not choose Knighthood because she loves to fight and longs to protect her country- she does it in an attempt to escape. From the start she is helped by the heir to the throne, her manservant (a trained knight in his own right), and the goddess herself. Although she has honor, Alanna is spiteful with a terrible temper, and is able to use her magical gift to help her through the worst of times.

In contrast, we have Keladry of Mindalen, who is allowed to apply as a page without concealing her gender. But by being honest about her sex, Keladry makes herself vulnerable to all sorts of sexism and abuse. Because she is a girl, Kel is forced to undergo a one year "probationary period" (which is not required of boy pages) so that she may prove herself. During this first year, Kel is constantly bullied and experiences hazing and abuse the likes of which Alanna never saw. However, Kel quickly proves, against all odds, that she is as good, if not better, than the boys.

Unlike Alanna, Kel knows that she wants to fight. She doesn't want glory, thanks or praise, but rather, seeks her shield so that she may protect those who cannot protect themselves. Kel has no real help from her idol, Alanna, no manservant to help her through, and no magical gift to fall back on. Instead, she uses her strength and determination to prove herself to even the most skeptical trainers.

After reading this book I realized, with a start, that I absolutely adore Kel. Although some reviews may disagree, I believe that Tamora Pierce has improved upon her Lioness Quartet with the Protector of the Small Series.

Hooray for Kel!(less)

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Oct 30, 2010 Ashleigh Paige rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-decent-shelf-of-meh

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

It has been ten years since the decree was made that women could train to become knights in the realm of Tortall and one girl is finally taking advantage of that: Keladry of Mindelan, a ten-year-old girl with three other knights in her family. The chauvinistic Lord Wyldon, who is a fantastic teacher despite his attitude towards Kel's wish to train for knighthood, forces Kel to undergo a one year probationary period to determine whether or not she can keep...more Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

It has been ten years since the decree was made that women could train to become knights in the realm of Tortall and one girl is finally taking advantage of that: Keladry of Mindelan, a ten-year-old girl with three other knights in her family. The chauvinistic Lord Wyldon, who is a fantastic teacher despite his attitude towards Kel's wish to train for knighthood, forces Kel to undergo a one year probationary period to determine whether or not she can keep up with the boys and go on with the rest of her training or go home.

I've heard many good things about Tamora Pierce both through the Internet and through friends that have read her books, but I haven't thought to pick up any of her books until now. I saw First Test in a used bookstore (that I've gotten a lot of my recently-reviewed books from) and curious, I bought it to see what the fuss was about. I see just what everyone was praising and I'm glad I got this book.

I love stories with feminist themes, in which a girl in a male-dominated world is able to become an equal to the men that have been "better than her" for most of her life. First Test and many of Tamora Pierce's other books (according to those good friends of mine and the Internet) has exactly the wonderful feminist themes I was hearing about and hoping for. Kel was a heroine I could relate to and Lord Wyldon was also an interesting character due to his bias towards women becoming knights and how he overcomes that.

I had no idea that this was the third quartet that takes place in Pierce's Tortall realm. I just saw this book, recognized the name, and picked it up. I came into this book with no information whatsoever on the mechanics of the world, but I wasn't confused even once about how it worked. This is certainly a testament to Pierce's talent. If someone can start where I did and not need to read the previous two quartets to understand what is going on, the author is doing something right.

This book is very short- only 206 pages- but it delivers a lot of good material in such a short time. This book is probably longer to others, but I'm so used books that are anywhere from 300 to 850 pages long that this is a quick, short read for me. Better yet, I got through so quickly because I didn't want to put it down to do something else. As the first book of a series, it does a fantastic job of setting up everything within such a short amount of time. She can do in 206 pages what it takes some authors 400 or 500 pages to do with a world that is decidedly less expansive than this one.

I had to stop reading at the beginning because of a scene in which an immortal spider-like monster called a spidren had a bag of kittens and ate two of them. None of you would know this (or do you? I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but my memory is terrible), but I love cats. I have five and I love them all very much. Once I'm able to buy my own cats, I will have as many as the law and decency will allow me to have. The visual imagery of the spidren eating those kittens upset me greatly because cats mean so much to me and I had to put it down for about ten minutes. Form there on, it was smooth sailing, but the image stuck with me and I still get a little queasy about it. This scene had significance--to give Kel another good motivation to become a knight, to make her want to be a "protector of the small" animals and people like kittens--so at least it wasn't gore for the sake of gore like some other authors might do.

I also felt that some of the characters fell a little bit flat. This was mostly applied to the more minor characters like the first-year pages Kel is taught with and the antagonist, Joren of Stone Mountain and his friends. Part of this is due to the short length of the book, leaving less time for development, and partly because they're just that minor. The mystery of who was sending Kel those gifts wasn't much of a mystery either. Before I peeked ahead to confirm my guess (yes, I do that sometimes), I was already sure I knew who it was and I was right. (less)

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Apr 04, 2011 Kat rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, listened, read-more-than-once, march2011, march, 2011, audible

I started this series with the thought that it was going to be a do over of Pierce's previous, successful Alanna the Lioness Quartet, which followed a girl (named Alanna, of course) who dressed like a boy and took her twin brother's place in page training while he took her place in magic school (not dressed as a girl). The four books of that quartet follow her progress from page, to squire, to knight and king's champion--with her sex being discovered along the way. I was pleasantly surprised to...more

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Apr 21, 2008 Stephanie E rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone 13+

**Full Review 4/22/08**

First Test was about an 11-year-old who wants to be a knight. She gets let into a school that trains people but she was on "probation" because the leader of the school didn't like the idea of having a girl join an all-boys school. Ladies didn't become knights. Almost all of the boys in that school were against having a girl in their presence, so they did things to sabotage her and try to get her kicked out of the school. The older boys made the first-year boys (and girl) d...more

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Mar 03, 2009 Madison added it

Arrived, she discovered just how horrible some boys could be. All except one didn't give her a chance. Nealan of Queenscove was her best friend from the beginning.
But Kel wasn’t just some little girl, her family lived in the Yamanis Islands for nearly half of her life and the Yamanis' ways were a big part of Kel's culture.
Everywhere she went she used her Yamani skills to ignore the tormentors and keep her going. Her steadiness with her glaive helped her in the training yards and slowly but sure...more

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May 10, 2013 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-science-fiction, young-adult, women-s-studies-fiction

This story follows the story of the first girl after Alanna to pursue knighthood in Tortall and the first to be able to do so openly. But it poses the interesting question of how many barriers did Alanna actually break down? How would Keladry's pursuit be different?

I like that Pierce writes realistically about Kel's time as a trainee. That she's put on probation, although none of the boy candidates for knighthood ever were. That some of the trainees are friendly, but that there is an openly host...more

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May 06, 2013 Annette rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook-commercial, fantasy, youth

I just finished the Rebekah Cooper series (first book Terrier), which has put me in the mood for my yearly fantasy kick. I was frankly disappointed in this one. It simply wasn't as well written as the Cooper series - which benefited greatly from being written in first person, IMHO. In addition, the author's feminist ax was out for a serious grinding: unlike the Cooper series where the general equality of women in traditional male pursuits such as policing and knighthood was presented more or les...more I just finished the Rebekah Cooper series (first book Terrier), which has put me in the mood for my yearly fantasy kick. I was frankly disappointed in this one. It simply wasn't as well written as the Cooper series - which benefited greatly from being written in first person, IMHO. In addition, the author's feminist ax was out for a serious grinding: unlike the Cooper series where the general equality of women in traditional male pursuits such as policing and knighthood was presented more or less as a given. Perhaps not a terribly believable situation, but I guess if you can accept Mages and the like, you might as well accept an incredibly high proportion of super strong, super athletic women running around Tortal as well. Here it is central to the whole plot: a poor little girl who desperately wants to be a knight has to constantly prove and reprove herself to the male dominated professionals and peers, who (o course) treat her terribly unfairly. On top of that, said little girl is a little girl in name only: she's essentially an adult in a child's body. I simply cannot buy a 10 year old with that amount of self-possession. Again, I can accept that we're dealing with cream-of-the-crop kids here, but the amount of maturity and social understanding she presents is rather over the top. Finally, the plot of the book is terribly similar to the Lioness series - at least my memory of it: it's been a few years. But the outlines are very much alike. Furthermore, there is never the slightest shadow of a doubt in any reader's mind that our heroine will succeed and make it into the next book (conveniently titled "Page.") Sorry if this seems like a spoiler, but really! It makes Kel's constant maundering about the situation a little wearing.

The worst of it is, I don't think I'm out of my fantasy phase for the year yet, and I'll probably pick up the sequel just because I'm on a roll. I mean, it's either that or try to get back into Mercedes Lackey. Not that I haven't read plenty of hers, but she's even more maudlin / melodramatic than Pierce, who is frankly a better writer to boot. (less)

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Apr 29, 2013 Bridget Mckinney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Before starting to read the Protector of the Small quartet, I read that Kel was just another Alanna and that the books are basically Song of the Lioness all over again. I was actually okay with that going into this series, since I love Alanna and think that there are far worse things Kel could have been than just like her. I'm happy to report, however, that although there are similarities between Alanna and Kel, their experiences are extremely different and Kel's story expands upon and continues

...more

I wrote about this a little bit already, but I have to reiterate it here because it makes me so happy. Kel has a lot more support than Alanna did, from her family as well as from people she meets when she goes into page training, but at the same time Kel faces a lot more active and targeted sexist bullying than Alanna did. Alanna disguised herself as a boy, which meant she had to live in constant fear of discovery, but Kel faces danger because she isn't hiding.

Something that I find interesting about the contrast between these two different situations is the ways in which their coping mechanisms and strategies overlap and diverge. Both Alanna and Kel find women who are friendly to them, although Kel and Alanna are denied each others company so far, which makes me rage. Both girls deal with bullies as pages; however, Alanna's bully was personal while the bullying Kel faces is sexist and institutional. Both girls make friends among the other pages, finding older boys willing to help mentor them.

Something I especially loved was that, while Alanna hid her gender successfully for years, Kel makes a point of wearing dresses when she can as a way to never let the boys and men she is surrounded by forget that she is a girl. I love this little bit of recognition that gender is a performance and that the choices we make about how to perform are intensely personal AND political. In some ways, Kel is even more of a trailblazer than Alanna, simply because she is trying to become a knight openly. Alanna may have opened the door a crack for Kel, but Kel is the first girl to try and go through that door as a girl.

In a lot of ways, I think that First Test is a lot more successful as a feminist work than Alanna: The First Adventure was, although I think both books should be required reading for girls (and boys, ideally). I think that Kel's experiences are closer to the real life ways in which girls experience sexism, and that's a valuable thing for young people to read about.

(less)

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Mar 16, 2013 Minie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-ya, series

First off.. From reading most of the reviews here... Seems like most people have read the series for Alanna... I want to disclose that I came by this series through the library.. Picked it up one day to give it a try without having any history prior. This is also my first Tamora book.

With that said. This series have a lot of potential. It's in it's introduction and setting up stage..with first test... Not much is happening other than the typical training and hazing mentioned. I like Kel.. She's...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Jason rated it 1 of 5 stars

Notes While Reading: (view spoiler)...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars

What I liked:
-Keladry. She was different than normal female characters. She was a little larger than normal girls, and she already had some weapons training on account of her stay in the Yamani Islands with her parents. She was headstrong
-Neal. I really liked that Keladry’s best friend was a boy that was a few years older than her. One that she didn’t have any attraction to. They had a close relationship that wasn’t sexual or romantic in any way, and it was very refreshing. Neal was intelligent,...more What I liked:
-Keladry. She was different than normal female characters. She was a little larger than normal girls, and she already had some weapons training on account of her stay in the Yamani Islands with her parents. She was headstrong
-Neal. I really liked that Keladry’s best friend was a boy that was a few years older than her. One that she didn’t have any attraction to. They had a close relationship that wasn’t sexual or romantic in any way, and it was very refreshing. Neal was intelligent, quick-witted, and he was a very sarcastic person. He might have been my favorite character.
-Training. I felt like the training in this book may have gone into more detail than Alanna’s training, and I liked the more in-depth look at the life of a Page. Since this book only focused on Keladry’s first year, everything was more fleshed out and had better detail, giving you more of a feel for the characters and the setting. I wish Tamora Pierce had done this with Alanna’s first adventure.

What I disliked:
-Plot. There wasn’t much of one in this book other than Keladry overcoming the obstacles put in her path. She trained, adjusted to life at the palace, and she made friends. That was about it, and I would have liked a little more. I understand that this book was setting up the rest of the quartet, but I felt like a little more plot could have been added. As it was, the actual plot didn’t kick in until the very end of the book, and I was getting a little bored by that point.
-Lack of bad guy. Joren was pretty much the only bad guy in this story, but he and his friends were nothing more than schoolyard bullies. With Alanna, Ralon wasn’t just a schoolyard bully. He was truly a monster, but Joren just acted like a spoiled brat that didn’t get his way.

Overall, this was a quick, entertaining read from one of my favorite authors. Keladry was a very interesting young girl, and over the course of the next three books, she becomes one of my favorite fantasy heroines, right behind her own hero, Alanna. 4.0(less)

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Jul 02, 2012 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars

The realm of Tortall has been the setting for many of Tamora Pierce's book series. First Test is the beginning of the third quartet set in Tortall, but it was the first book set in that world that I read. Despite referencing events and characters from the eight books that came before it, the Protector of the Small quartet does not alienate newcomers by relying on such references.

This book focuses on a brand new character, Lady Keladry of Mindelan, who wants to become a knight. Women used to be f...more The realm of Tortall has been the setting for many of Tamora Pierce's book series. First Test is the beginning of the third quartet set in Tortall, but it was the first book set in that world that I read. Despite referencing events and characters from the eight books that came before it, the Protector of the Small quartet does not alienate newcomers by relying on such references.

This book focuses on a brand new character, Lady Keladry of Mindelan, who wants to become a knight. Women used to be forbidden from becoming knights, until a girl earned her knighthood by disguising herself as a boy. That girl spoke with gods, had a talent for magic, and befriended the heir to the throne before she even finished her training.

Keladry, called "Kel" by her friends, is not that girl. Instead of a protagonist trying to escape being sent to a convent or a school for mages, she is someone who wants nothing more than to protect the realm. The series is called Protector of the Small because that's what Kel is. She goes out of her way to protect those whom others would dismiss out of hand, as evidenced in the very first chapter when she attempts to save a bag of kittens, first from some bullies who intended to drown them, and then from a spider-like monster intending to eat them.

Compared to Tamora Pierce's previous protagonists in her Tortall books, Kel is extraordinarily down-to-earth. She is pragmatic and has no patience for romantic notions or drama. And she needs that level head, because she meets with heavy challenges from the very beginning of the story, when it's determined that she, unlike the male knights-in-training, will undergo a probationary period for a year before becoming a proper page. Her first test is to prove herself to the pages' training master, a conservative Lord who believes women aren't fit for knighthood and means to drum her out of their ranks as quick as he can.

Unlike Pierce's past novels, the gods stay out of this book. The extraordinary characters from past novels don't get involved. Kel is very much on her own, relying on her own wits to forge friendships with other pages, endure the many bullies who love to pick on her, and face trials that escalate from mere bullying to a bandit attack in the Royal Forest.

By this point, the author has built up an impressive cast of characters, most of whom have cameos despite not being heavily involved in this series. They are managed with a masterful hand, never becoming so numerous that it becomes difficult to keep track.

In short, the only reason this book doesn't have five stars is because I can't give six to the rest of the books in the series.(less)

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Apr 13, 2012 Margo Berendsen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-my-reads, mg-fantasy, middle-grade, talking-animals, fantasy

Why did I wait so long to pick up something by Tamora Pierce?

Maybe because I thought it would be too much of a "feel good" book, a light and smarmy fantasy. I feared that the fantasy land of Tortall would be just another world patterned after medieval Europe, like so many others.

I love it when a book smashes my expectations in a good way.

This is not a light fantasy. I knew that within the first chapter when Keladry encounters one of the evil creatures of Tortall, a spidren (half spider, half...more Why did I wait so long to pick up something by Tamora Pierce?

Maybe because I thought it would be too much of a "feel good" book, a light and smarmy fantasy. I feared that the fantasy land of Tortall would be just another world patterned after medieval Europe, like so many others.

I love it when a book smashes my expectations in a good way.

This is not a light fantasy. I knew that within the first chapter when Keladry encounters one of the evil creatures of Tortall, a spidren (half spider, half human) and fails to save a litter of kittens that the creature has stolen. The spidren bites one in half right in front of her, to spite her.

But this event really frames the kind of person Kel turns into. She wants to become a knight and a protector, at any cost. However, as the only girl at a school full of boys being trained to become pages, squires, and eventually knights, she has many enemies, many classmates who don't think she has any business being there.

The training master, Wyldon, only accepts Keladry on probation, with many misgivings. And I liked that his misgivings really are valid. Of course Keladry proves herself worthy of being a page as far as her skills and bravery, but since this is the first in a series, we're forced to wait to see how she'll tackle some of the more complicated problems of being a woman training to be a knight.

This girl is TOUGH. She has a few extra skills that help her even up the odds. But she also has one weakness that could be her undoing.

I loved how she handles the bullies among her classmates. It wasn't particularly clever, but it was brave and it avoided the trap of becoming spiteful or vengeful, which I appreciated. For this reason alone, I think every kid from grade school to high school needs to read this book, so they have a better grasp on how to handle bullies.

Another thing I liked about the fantasy elements was how there was a reversal in the mythical creatures. Tortall has vicious centaurs and killer unicorns, which are traditionally portrayed as wise and beautiful creatures. The basilisk, on the other hand, is usually treated as a wicked serpent but in this book Tkaa the basilisk is one of the most admired and trusted teachers.

Another reversal that I loved in this book is that Kel (the only girl) is so practical and unromantic and it's Neal, the boy assigned as Kel's sponsor, who is the drama-queen!(less)

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Mar 12, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children, fantasy, homey

First in the Protector of the Small fantasy adventure series about the second girl to ever train to become a knight in the kingdom of Tortall.

You may want to read the previous (short) sets of Tortallan series before starting this one (in this order):

Song of the Lioness begins with Lioness Rampant
Immortals begins with Wild Magic

My Take
I was back to being confused as to whether I was in Valdemar or Tortall!

Truly, this is an excellent series for kids as it promotes the fact that girls can and sho...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Merricart rated it 5 of 5 stars

Pierce takes us back to the land of Tortall for another roaring adventure. This time we are introduced to Keladry, the first girl to try out knighthood after it became legal to do so.

Previously an all-male institution, the page school doesn't take kindly to a new-comer. Keladry encounters bullying and sexism from both fellow pages and the training master. Time and again people tell her to quit or try to sabotage her training. However, Keladry takes it all on with dignity, and never complains abo...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Mark L. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a bok that i read back when I was still in high school. I was bored of reading the same old thing and went out into the library to find a fantasy series to get into. It had been awhile since I had stopped to look at what was big in fantasy and so I had no idea what I wantd to read. I came across this book by chance, I had vaguely heard about Tamora Pierce (back then that basically meant I had heard her name at some point in my life)I decided to check the book out and over the course of...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have read this series at least once a year since the first time I got it. Pierce's portrayal of a young girl striving to accomplish a dream while being looked down on by many because of her gender was something that I, although having never personally experienced sexism at that level, understood and appreciated. Keladry is a great heroine and her ability to remain calm in the face of enormous obstacles is inspiring to me each time I read the series. The books aren't perfect, there are a few in...more

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Apr 22, 2011 Robbie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, april-july-2011

This story was really interesting. This particular book by Tamora Pierce is about a girl who wants to become a knight, and is given half a chance to prove herself. I like her headstrong attitude and her die hard will, she really doesn't give up and she can realize what needs to be done. She did not back down on what she thought was right, even when it would have been easier to do. She took the punches thrown her way and dealt a few of her own to those who bullied others.
This book was not as good...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was given the opportunity to read this book again, thanks to my boyfriend's sister. I have always been in love with Tamora Pierce's books ever since I was in middle school. I don't do reviews that much, so forgive me if this isn't as well-written as it could be. I need to brush up on this anyhow.

This book is about a girl named Keladry who had decided that she wanted to train into knighthood. Along the road, she deals with problems that she was alerted to before she even took a step in the cas...more

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Oct 31, 2010 Allison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: strong-female-lead, ya-teen, fantasy, tween, girls-with-swords

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I liked this quartet as much as I do the rest of Tamora Pierce's Tortall books. (They automatically get 5 stars because Tortall is all wrapped up with fuzzy childhood feelings for me.) It took me a while to actually read this series, though, because I was too afraid that it would read exactly like the Alanna quartet. Fortunately, Kel's story, though similar to Alanna's, was refreshingly different.

First, the focus of Kel's knight training is much more on team work than was Alanna's story of the l...more I liked this quartet as much as I do the rest of Tamora Pierce's Tortall books. (They automatically get 5 stars because Tortall is all wrapped up with fuzzy childhood feelings for me.) It took me a while to actually read this series, though, because I was too afraid that it would read exactly like the Alanna quartet. Fortunately, Kel's story, though similar to Alanna's, was refreshingly different.

First, the focus of Kel's knight training is much more on team work than was Alanna's story of the lone knight heroine. Kel must learn to lead a squad and then command an entire refugee camp, doing such inglorious tasks as ordering supplies and helping to plow fields. While Alanna journies to find the Domion Jewel alone and takes on evil wizards alone, all of Kel's successes come because she knows how to successfully lead and work with those around her - animal and human (because what would a story about Tortall be if there weren't highly intelligent animals involved?).

Another interesting difference is the approach towards gender identity in each series. Alanna, forced to hide her gender from everyone, first fights against her developing body, bemoaning the fact that she has to be and become a girl. Her struggle is to accept her gender identity and incorporate it into her idea of herself. In contrast, Kel doesn't need to hide the fact that she is a girl going for her shield. Instead, her challenge is being the ONLY girl in a male dominated field. She has to put up with insults and slanders against her sex and learns early on that she does not want to DENY the fact that she is a girl. She purposefully wears dresses to dinner to remind everyone that she is a girl.

Another interesting difference is that Kel has only one short and rather unheated relationship (they're too busy and then too far away doing knightly duties to really do much more than sneak in the occasional kiss). Alanna on the other hand has quite a string of rather heated love affairs while she tries to figure out how to balance her various desires - for love (for lack of a better word) and for her shield. In contrast, Kel has a couple crushes but is much more focused on her knightly tasks, and the books end without pairing her off nicely with the most available boy (something that it seems like almost EVERY ya book is doing these days).

On another note, I found it strangely jarring to read about the adult Alanna (as I do whenever she pops up in another Tortall story). She seems so much more .... grizzled and hard than I read her during her own stories.

A big 5 stars for the Protector of the Small series.(less)

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Jul 19, 2010 Rhiannon Ryder rated it 4 of 5 stars

So I'm 1/2 way through the Tortall books (well actually as I write this I’m about 3/4 through them), in the Pursuing the Lioness challenge hosted by Chelle over at Tempting Persephone. I've been particularly looking forward to the last eight books of the series; Protector of the Small series, the two Trickster's books and the two Beka Cooper books.

Protector of the Small books follows Keladry of Midelan, the first girl since Alanna to attempt to become a Knight of the realm. It's been 14 years s...more

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Apr 27, 2010 Mark Dewey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, fantasy, juvenile

This book was all right. The characters and things in it were pretty interesting. It was written fairly well. The story didn't seem like anything new, especially after reading the first book of the previous series (I think I preferred that one, although the books do have quite a different character to them).

The narration of the audiobook was good.

That thing about the spider-creature eating kittens seemed a little galling. I mean, why was it doing it? I doubt if it was just hungry. Kittens don't...more

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Mar 31, 2010 Cayleigh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

One of the more recent series by Tamora Pierce. I am an avid lover of her books and this one is no exception. First Test is set in the realm of Tortall, same as Song of the Lioness Quartet & The Immortal Series and features many characters from these two series. Keladry is the first girl who has come forward to become a knight since it became legal for girls to do so. She has to contend with many people who think she shouldn't be there from other pages to nobles.
Like most of Pierce's female...more

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Feb 15, 2010 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Protector of the Small series is a favorite of mine (an adult) and the 12-year-old girl I mentor. Kel is a determined young woman who stands up for what's right, works hard to achieve her dreams, and uses her strength to protect rather than bully those who can't stand up for themselves. I love this girl, while my mentee mainly talks about all the animals in the book.

First Test is the first book of the series. The pacing and world-building were very good, and the situations were realistic--Ke...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Lv2readB rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, intermediate

Pierce, T. (1999). Protector of the small: First test. New York: Random House.

Summary:
Ten year-old Keladry of Mindalen has to prove herself worthy of passing the “first test” on her way to reaching her dream of becoming a knight. Surrounded by males, Kel has to be strong enough to withstand their preconceptions, abuses and threats to show everyone that she can do it.
First Test is the first book in the quartet Protector of the Small. All four books are recommended.

Reviews/Awards:
Voice of Youth...more

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May 14, 2013 Vivian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adored, ya-to-remember, ya-high-epic-fantasy, tamora-pierce-world

3.5 STARS

Being immersed in this world once again brings back all of these dear and familiar feelings-- love, affection, amusement and the all too familiar indignation from the brilliantly frustrating portrayal of sexism that seems to be a prevalent theme in her of her books.

The premise is much like that of the series Song of the Lioness, but that's just about the biggest similarity. There are a lot of distinguishing factors, especially with Keladry's character. It was wonderful and heart warming...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Monica&spikey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, tamora-pierce

Okay, this is probably soemthing that EVERYBODY on goodreads should know about me: Tamora Pierce was my FIRST favorite Author. She is a large part of my reading identity and also the reason I decided I wanted to be a writer when I grow up.

That being said, of course I loved this book.

**my book grading system has been adjusted for this book, since i can not grade the romance as there is none. The MC is only 10, after all.

The Characters: 9/10
Kel is only ten in this book, but she's a very strong cha...more

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Sep 25, 2009 Mark Philpot rated it 3 of 5 stars

My word of warning: I'm probably far from Tamora Pierce's intended audience for these books set in the Tortall universe. I read the Alanna quartet a long time ago and rather enjoyed them. Pierce has obviously spend a long time researching medieval combat and society and it shows in her writing. I liked the characters from the Alanna quartet, so when I saw Immortals and Protector of the Small series on the shelves focusing on different characters, it didn't entice me enough to pick them up.

First...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Annie added it

Shelves: 8th-grade-3rd-quarter

This is another quartet about a girl in Tortall who wants to be a knight. At first I didn't really think it would be that good. I like it when authors write a series about a character mentioned in a different series but I only found one mention of Kel in any of the other books that I read of her. I didn;t know who she was or what she was like aside from someone who fought the lioness. I decided to try reading it anyway and fell right into it. I particularly enjoyed learning what happened to the...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Victor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

Keladry of Mindeland has decided that she will attend Knight School when suddenly she is put on probation by the Training Master, Lord Wyldon of Cavall. This dissapoints Kel as she feels she is not treated equally by her fellow pages, who only think of her like a girl.

Although marketed to young adults, I found this book very entertaining, in which it challenges the readers to make a difference, even when everybody else considers them different and unfit. A timid Kel wants to be accepted as the r...more

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About Tamora Pierce

Hey, folks! I just discovered that apparently I have given some very popular books single-star ratings--except I haven't. How do I know I haven't? Because I haven't read those books at all. So before you go getting all hacked off at me for trashing your favorites, know that I've written GoodReads to find out what's going on.

I return to my regularly scheduled profile:
Though I would love to join gro...more Hey, folks! I just discovered that apparently I have given some very popular books single-star ratings--except I haven't. How do I know I haven't? Because I haven't read those books at all. So before you go getting all hacked off at me for trashing your favorites, know that I've written GoodReads to find out what's going on.

I return to my regularly scheduled profile:
Though I would love to join groups, I'm going to turn them all down. I just don't have the time to take part, so please don't be offended if I don't join your group or accept an invitation. I'm not snooty--I'm just up to my eyeballs in work and appearances!

Also, don't be alarmed by the number of books I've read. When I get bored, I go through the different lists and rediscover books I've read in the past. It's a very evil way to use up time when I should be doing other things. Obviously, I've read a lot of books in 54 years!

I was born in South Connellsville, PA. My mother wanted to name me "Tamara" but the nurse who filled out my birth certificate misspelled it as "Tamora". When I was 8 my family moved to California, where we lived for 6 years on both sides of the San Francisco peninsula.

I started writing stories in 6th grade. My interest in fantasy and science fiction began when I was introduced to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ by J. R. R. Tolkien and so I started to write the kind of books that I was reading. After my parents divorced, my mother took my sisters and me back to Pennsylvania in 1969. There I went to Albert Gallatin Senior High for 2 years and Uniontown Area Senior High School for my senior year.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, I wrote the book that became The Song of the Lioness fantasy quartet. I sold some articles and 2 short stories and wrote reviews for a martial arts movie magazine. At last the first book of the quartet, Alanna: The First Adventure was published by Atheneum Books in 1983.

Tim Liebe, who became my Spouse-Creature, and I lived in New York City with assorted cats and two parakeets from 1982 - 2006. In 2006 we moved to Syracuse, New York, where we live now with assorted cats, a number of squirrels, birds, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and woodchucks visiting our very small yard. As of 2011, I have 27 novels in print, one short story collection, one comic book arc ("White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion") co-written with Tim, and a short story anthology co-editing credit. There's more to come, including a companion book to the Tortall `verse. So stay tuned!(less)

More about Tamora Pierce...

Books by Tamora Pierce

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1)

In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness, #2)

Lioness Rampant (Song of the Lioness, #4)

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Song of the Lioness, #3)

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Trivia About First Test

22 trivia questions

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Quotes from First Test

“I'd like to find whoever taught the Stump that extra work builds character and push him down the stairs," Neal told Kel at lunch.” — 184 people liked it

“You know, ogres only sound stupid. Most are pretty smart."
"And it's a shallow person who judges anyone by the way they sound. I'm so shallow I'm surprised I don't reflect myself.” — 178 people liked it

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avg rating	preview: First Test Goodreads rating: 4.18 (21898 ratings)
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First Test (Protector of the Small #1)

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