First Test (Protector of the Small #1)
1999
- kel
- protector of the small
- tortall
- fantasy fiction
- juvenile fiction
- fiction
- knights and knighthood
- fantasy
- sex role
- historical fiction
The story
When Alanna became the King's Champion, it was decided that girls would henceforth be allowed to train for the knighthood. But ten years have passed, and no girls have come forward. Now, however, someone is about to change all that. Her name is Kel. In this first book in a new series from popular children's fantasy writer Tamora Pierce, we are introduced to a strong, adventurous new heroine who will win the hearts and minds of fantasy fans.From the Hardcover edition. 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. Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces only one real roadblock: 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 probation for one year. It is a trial period that no male page has ever had to endure and one that separates the good natured Kel even more from her fellow trainees during the tough first year. But Kel Is not a girl to underestimate, as everyone is about to find out.
What it’s like
Brisk, physical storytelling with a warm, earnest voice: the prose moves through training yards, drills and cold stone barracks with plain, concrete detail rather than lush description, so the sensory world comes from horses, weapons, mud and stew rather than from painterly scenery. The mood is determined and sometimes rueful, with a steady undercurrent of injustice and a slow build of hard-won camaraderie. Hazing and harsh discipline appear on the page, including bullying, cold taunts and exhausting punishment, and there are a few sharp fights and a fair amount of physical bruising, but nothing gory or sexual; the tension lands as grinding endurance and emotional sting more than as shock. Chapters are short and punchy, the pace quick enough for a long commute or a single evening. Its arc follows a stubborn, good-hearted girl who refuses to be pushed out, gradually earning respect from wary peers and a harder-to-win instructor. It suits readers who want a comfortable, uplifting fantasy with a clear sense of right and wrong, a rain-day read, or a gentle comfort pick for young readers and adults who love stories about underdogs proving themselves.
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