Books #2-5: The Protector of the Small Series

The Protector of the Small Quartet (First Test, Page, Squire, and Lady Knight) by Tamora Pierce (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)

I remember reading a lot of Tamora Pierce books when I was in high school. Her books gave me my love of magic and knights and castles and kings and queens and the like. I love her magic system, how it's different colours depending on the person, and how not everyone has magic.

This series comes after her Alanna series and her Daine series. I haven't read the Trickster books or the Beka Cooper books, but I'm not sure if I want to. There are some books I have from high school that I feel are too young for me now. Maybe I'm just being strange.

These four books are about Keladry, or Kel, from the little fiefdom of Mindelan. Her father was an ambassador to a group of islands that are very Asian influenced, the Yamani Islands, and now they are back in their home country of Tortall. Kel's brothers are all knights, and after the training she received in the Yamani royal family, she decides she wants to be a knight.

In the capital, this news causes trouble for the king, the head of training, and the realm's only female knight, Alanna (she became a knight by pretending to be a boy, Kel wants to be acknowledged as a girl throughout her training, and would be technically the realm's only female knight as Alanna is referred to as Sir Alanna). The training master, Sir Wyldon, sees Alanna as an unfair advantage for Kel (Alanna is gifted with magic and was visited by their Goddess multiple times in her series), and she is ordered to stay away from Kel until she completes her training.

Kel goes to the castle to learn to become a knight, and is shunned by most of the other boys. She is put on probation, given one year to prove to the training master that she has what it takes to continue. Most of the boys, with the exception of the intelligent and sarcastic Neal, avoid her, playing tricks on her. It isn't until they realize that she can help them with their training and their homeword, and that she knows how to lead their groups in training activities.

Most learn to accept her. Some don't, like Joren, but he pays for his treachery, his tricks, and his hatred.

Kel's strength is very underrated, and most grown men are surprised when they see what she can do. This is because she trains relentlessly, striving to become stronger than the others just so she can catch up to the boys.

Over time, Kel is sent secret presents, like bruise balms and little knives, and then saddles and gloves and swords, by a mysterious supporter. She wants to know who sends the presents, and discovers who it is in (in either the third or fourth book, but I can't remember, I'm 75% sure it's the thrid book).

An issue I have with these books is that the first takes place over a year while the others take place over a period of years. The second one seems so rushed, it's probably my least favourite of the four. Also, at the beginning, Kel is 10 years old, but at the end of Lady Knight she's 18/19. I'm wary of deciding on an age for readers of these books. Maybe 13 and up, but do 13 year olds like reading about 10 year olds? It's like you have to grow up as you read these books. I was 14-15 when I read them.

Squire has to be my favourite our of all four novels. Kel gets to travel around, learn new things, meet new people, gets a griffin for a pet (only for a year, through), gets kissed a bunch of times (yay, go kissing), and learns about the world.

I'm curious why Pierce makes Kel so tall in the end. She ends up like, 5 foot 10 or 11. That's a bit more than my own actual height. If she'd been an average 5 foot 5 girl, there's no way she'd be taken seriously as a knight. Maybe that's why.

I love the names Pierce gives her characters: Keladry, Faleron, Nealon, Verilidaine, Quinden, Kalasin, and Domitan. They're all so medieval-sounding, it's wonderful.

I like that Kel continues to stay a girl through all this fight training and knight-schooling. She gets crushes, she gets kissed, she gets her 'monthly courses' as some people put it. She's always a girl, but she does know how to kick butt.

Pierce's books frequently involve magic, but Kel is one of the ones without any magical ability. She does what she has to on her own, with her own strength of will and intelligence.

Kel saves so many people and helps so many, it's a wonder she doesn't get marriage proposal after marriage proposal. I'm curious about the end of the series, if something was hinted at there, but I'm not sure if Pierce was actually hinting at something or not.

I have my favourite characters, like Kel and Neal, and the ornery horse Peachblossom (don't name geldings after girly flowers, people), but I also like Faleron and Dom. I think they're both so cute. I have to explain, because I read these books in high school, and they're guys who go around like knights, saving people and stuff. There was something so appealing about that. Even now I can get all girly and fluttery thinking about it. What teenage girl didn't want to be carried off by a knight? I did.

So, if you like stories about knights and battles and magic and swords and overcoming adversity, then you might like these books. I do recommend these books for teen girls, because the central theme is that girls can do anything boys can, girls can be as strong as boys, as tough and as controlling and as smart, and there's nothing wrong with teaching girls that.

Go girls, we so rock, and go read a book.