Saturday, June 29, 2019

First Test

First Test (Protector of the Small, #1)
Tamora Pierce
Random House, 2007, 216p, Young Adult Fantasy

Keladry (Kel) of Mindelan is the youngest daughter in a noble family, and for as long as she can remember, she has had one desire: to become a knight. After a girl hid her gender throughout training until becoming a knight, the country of Tortall made it legal for noble daughters to train as knights. Kel is the first girl to sign up as a page in the kingdom's knight training program, and from the outset, she is put on probation to see if she can successfully keep up with the other boy pages during the first year of training.

Since reading this book, it has been something I read every year. Kel's desire to become a knight is so strong that she overcomes prejudice and persecution while at the same time showing her fellow pages what it means to be a knight. Despite the simplicity of her desire, Kel's journey to knighthood brings her in contact with magic, noble and common friends, loyalty and betrayal, and a host of situations where she's the only one who can save herself and her friends.

Those who like the Hunger Games and Disney Pixar's Brave will find plenty to love in this book.

SMM

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