I concede to the opinions of others - Kel is a very cool heroine. I still prefer Ally Cooper, but that's because she's older, trickier and less 'good'.Kel does seem much older than her years - a ten year old doing what she does in First Test seems totally unbelievable, aspirational, yes, possible, no. But as a series I really liked the Protector of the Small quartet (much MUCH more than the Daine books). Pierce really has a thing about vanquishing bullies - which I like. I also enjoyed the way the romance was handled - gentle and not overwhelming, or indeed, particularly important. ( )

I concede to the opinions of others - Kel is a very cool heroine. I still prefer Ally Cooper, but that's because she's older, trickier and less 'good'.Kel does seem much older than her years - a ten year old doing what she does in First Test seems totally unbelievable, aspirational, yes, possible, no. But as a series I really liked the Protector of the Small quartet (much MUCH more than the Daine books). Pierce really has a thing about vanquishing bullies - which I like. I also enjoyed the way the romance was handled - gentle and not overwhelming, or indeed, particularly important. ( )

Great book. A lot of thought is invested into the sideline characters, and it makes a huge difference to the improvement of the novel. The story is adventurous yet fun and, at times, humorous. ( )

This was the book with Keladry's real adventure set before her. I think Tamora Pierce has a talent for making her books both believable and epic at the same time. I like how she made Keladry very different than Alanna and made her a unique and stand-alone character. I would say, between the two lady knights, Keladry is the real hero. She is not gifted or touched by the gods; she's just a normal person trying to make the world a better place. ( )

In the final book of the quartet, Kel finally becomes a knight. Now that she's a knight, however, she has to wait to see what her orders will be-will they actually let her fight alongside men, or will they put her aside doing battle planning, or something else far from the action.
I gave this one a four star instead of five because it was more militaristic than I normally read with much less romance than Tamora Pierce's first two quartets. I still really enjoyed the books, but not as much as The Song of the Lioness quartet and The Immortals quartet. ( )

The last of the protector of the small quartet, I felt like there was so much more to see from the character Kel. Hopefully she will be popping up in some of Pierce's other books connected to this world. ( )

I love Tamora Pierce! A great continuation of the series, and one of my favorite series. Whether in the writing style, strong female character, or just reading it for fun, this book will keep you occupied and feeling overall good. Though I still prefer the first one, this was still excellent. ( )

Some of Tamora Pierce's books get bogged down by not enough action, just a long slow stream of small events and then a big battle in the last chapter. This book suffered from the opposite problem, in my view: too much action, some but not enough character development or interpersonal interaction. However, the action was excellently and excitingly written, and was well-paced (not just the one big disconnected fight at the end). Not my favorite book of the series, but I think Kel became my favorite of TP's heroines by the end of it all. ( )

At last Kel has become a knight. But her first assignment as a knight frustrates and humiliates her -- instead of combat in the Scanran war she is placed in charge of a refugee camp.

Freshly knighted as a war with neighboring Scanra begins, Kel is sent to head a refugee camp not far from the border. Although she is disappointed that she is not in the midst of the fighting, she soon comes to accept the necessity of a trained commander and fighter to train and oversee the camp. Kel picks up a young groom along the way, the only one who can deal with Peachblossom, and continues to earn her title of Protector of the Small. When Scanran mages using children to power killing devices cross her path, Kel must infiltrate enemy territory to fulfill the task given her by the Chamber of the Ordeal.

I liked this one most of the Protector of the Small books. The story was fleshed out more than the previous (shorter) books could afford. I enjoyed seeing Kel match wits with the refugees, train young people, and generally monitor life around the camp. It was also nice to see one of Pierce's heroines NOT paired up at the end of the series, though the possibility still exists. ( )

This was an excellent end to the Protector of the Small series. Keladry has passed her Ordeal and is now a knight awaiting her first assignment. There is a complication, however; during her Ordeal, the magical Chamber of the Ordeal sent her a vision of a necromancer who is creating fearsome killing machines. The Chamber has set her a task: find this necromancer, and kill him. But Kel has also been set a task by her more corporeal masters: she must manage the refugee camp of Haven. Kel is well-suited to the position; Sir Raoul trained her well to be a good organizer and to manage resources, and Kel has a sympathy and rappor with commoners that many of her noble-born colleagues lack. She knows in her heart that she is the best person for the job, but her visions of the necromancer chafe at her. How can she fulfill her promise to the Chamber if she is saddled with 500 refugees?

Tamora Pierce doesn't pull her punches when it comes to the fate of common people in war, and in many ways this is a rather dark novel. It ends on a hopeful note, however, and it's a very strong ending to a truly excellent series. ( )

Although I really enjoyed this series over all, I found this book to be a disappointing end to the series. For some reason, this book fell flat. Kel faces some tough enemies, including a mage who steals children's souls to run evil war machines, but I didn't get wrapped up in her struggles the way I did in the past. Maybe the problem was that the enemies she faced in this book were evil in an over the top way. ( )

fantasy, paperbakc, ya, ya fantasy ( )