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Protector of the Small #1
First Test
Tamora Pierce returns to the land of Tortall with a heroine who refuses to quit.
Ten years after knighthood training was opened to both males and females, no girl has been brave enough to try. But knighthood is Keladry's one true desire, and so she steps forward to put herself to the test.
Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces one roadblock that seems insurmountable: Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He is absolutely against girls becoming knights. So while he is forced to train her, Wyldon puts her on a probationary trial period that no male page has ever had to endure. Further set apart from her fellow trainees, Kel's path to knighthood is now that much harder. But she is determined to try, and she's making friends in the most unlikely places. One thing is for sure, Kel is not a girl to underestimate.
Ten years after knighthood training was opened to both males and females, no girl has been brave enough to try. But knighthood is Keladry's one true desire, and so she steps forward to put herself to the test.
Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces one roadblock that seems insurmountable: Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He is absolutely against girls becoming knights. So while he is forced to train her, Wyldon puts her on a probationary trial period that no male page has ever had to endure. Further set apart from her fellow trainees, Kel's path to knighthood is now that much harder. But she is determined to try, and she's making friends in the most unlikely places. One thing is for sure, Kel is not a girl to underestimate.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 7, 1999
About the author
Tamora Pierce
106 books85.6k followersHey, 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!
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!
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
June 20, 2019
Den Svages Beskytter er en af de serier fra min barndom jeg aldrig bliver for gammel til. I bogen følger vi Keladry af Mindelan, der er den første pige, der officielt skal i lære som ridder. Men det er lettere sagt end gjort. For træningsmesteren, Wyldon, tvinger hende til at have en prøveperiode på skolen. Som den eneste nogensinde. Heldigvis er Keladry en sej tøs. Så drengene og lærerne, der ikke vil have en pige på skolen kan bare komme an!
Ikke en genfortælling!
“I want to be like that, she told herself as she always did. I want to protect people. And I will. I will. I’ll be a hero one day, just like Mama. Just like the Lioness.”
Jeg kan ikke engang sætte ord på, hvor meget den her serie har betydet for mig. Keladry var en af mine største rollemodeller som barn. Helt til det punkt, hvor jeg lavede en fremlæggelse om hende i sjette klase.
Ligesom Løvindens Sang handler De Svages Beskytte om en kvinde, der gerne vil være ridder, men ikke må. Derfor kan den virke som en genfortælling af Pierces gamle serie. Trods det mener jeg, at De Svages Beskytter kan noget helt specielt. For i modsætning til hovedpersonen i Løvindens Sang skjuler Keladry ikke sit køn. Det skaber en hel anden åbenhed om, at de udfordringer Keladry møder fra både lærere og kammerater er på grund af hendes køn.
Lignende er bogserien inspirerende på en anden måde end Løvindens Sang. For De Svages Beskytter handler ikke om at bryde reglerne bag alles ryg. I stedet stiller den spørgsmålet: Hvad gør du, når alle er imod den du er?
For Keladry er svaret, at du bliver ved med at være dig selv. For selv om mange hader hende for hendes kvindelighed, gemmer Keladry aldrig sine feminine side. I stedet slås hun med et våben beregnet til kvinder og går klædt sådan. Samtidig går hun også ofte klædt i bukser og træner en del. Derfor bliver hun ofte drillet for hendes ”ikke-kvindelige” krop og for at bryde kønsrollerne. På trods af det skammer Keladry sig ikke over sit det. Hvilket er ret sejt.
En lille introduktion
“If we take this as pages, what about when we are knights? Do we say, Oh, now I’m going to be nice to the weak and the small? Or do we do as we learned when we were pages?"
Der sker ikke meget i Page på Prøve. I hvert fald ikke i sammenlignet med mange andre af Pierces bøger. Og det er fint nok for bogen er først og fremmest en introduktion til Keladry og hendes venner.
Og faktisk er det bogens styrke. For det tillader os at dykke ned i Keladry og de udfordringer skolen giver hende. Samtidig er bogen heller ikke pessimistisk om, hvor svært det er at være kvinde i et mandsdominerede felt. For Keladry har en masse gode venner – alt fra den sarkastiske Neal til den temperamentsfulde Merrick -, der altid bakker op om hende. Det var også hendes gode vennegruppe, der ofte fik mig til at trække på smilebåndet i løbet af bogen.
Page på Prøve er en fantastisk begyndelse på en endnu bedre serie. Dens spændende plot og dens stærke hovedperson, gør den umulig ikke at elske.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review