Page

#1: First Test ★★★★
#2: Page ★★★★
#3: Squire ★★★★★

This review can also be found on my blog.

cw: past abuse, attempted assault

For the first time she could understand how someone in a rage might do murder. “How dare you touch an unwilling woman?” she asked.

This book follows Kel through her second, third, and fourth years as a page. I was surprised that this was all to be packed into one book, but it made sense that there was only so much to be covered once the probationary period was out of the way. We get to see the return of all Kel’s friends along with meeting some new ones, including her new maid Lalasa.

Lalasa is a great character in her own right, a young woman who has suffered from great abuse at the show more hands of men. She is timid when she first enrolls in Kel’s service, but quickly comes into her own with the page’s encouragement. We get to see Lalasa develop alongside Kel in a mirror image of sorts. It’s really nice to see this friendship between women blossom in such a male-centric environment.

Kel also has to deal with the beginnings of puberty while undergoing her trials as a page. One thing I love about Tamora Pierce is that she’s not afraid to write the real stuff. She’s blunt and honest without being crude. Kel begins to grow breasts, experiences several jumps in height, and gets her first period. If only we also lived in a world where a magical talisman was the solution, but I guess we have birth control!

It’s also really great to see Kel further dealing with her phobia. As revealed in the first book, her terror of heights came out of previous emotional abuse she experienced from her brother. While resistant at first she knows that overcoming, or at least confronting, these fears are key to her becoming a knight. As someone who has dealt with severe anxiety, I think it’s really important to see strong characters who struggle with it as well.

Overall, I continue to adore Kel as a character and find her story fun to follow. I usually don’t tend to like lawful good characters as I find them a bit boring, but Tammy is a master of developing people you love to read about. I mean, how can you not love a girl knight-to-be taking down abusers? I’d definitely recommend this book, and the series, to any lovers of Tamora Pierce as well as readers of YA fantasy. show less

It's Kel's second year and people are still fighting against the idea of her being a knight, but that's just making her more determined to do it. She's showing leadership skills and her determination to get it done is showing how hard of a nut she is to crack. It shows how she has to prove herself twice as good to be thought of as just as good as the boys. I just felt for her in having to work so hard at everything and the stupidity of some of the bullying, as if forcing someone down made them somehow better.
It's quite gritty and she is learning about herself and how she relates to others well and I just wanted to cheer her on all the way.

This was a great read, but having three years worth of Keladry's page training crammed into one volume was a bit much. Obviously page years are pretty uneventful (even for Kel) in the grand scheme of knightly training, so I can understand why Pierce rushed through to get to Kel's squiring time rather than give us all of the details. Now that kel's a squire though I wonder who will choose her, and where her adventures will take her next. Clearly Alanna can't sponsor her, and I'm pretty sure that I remember Raoul of the King's Own picking Kel and travelling the full extent of the Tortallan kingdom. We'll know soon enough!

Here, Keladry begins to flower. And I don't mean physically, though that happens too, much to her disgust...part of that is for the hormonal effects that have her noticing men. Kel does develop a crush, though she keeps it silent, and is crushed upon by several of her fellow pages; still, it never becomes the point of the story (thank goodness). Lord Wyldon actually acknowledges her abilities, as she displays them both in training and in real tests. She also makes a lot more friends, of various sorts - from her maid Lalasa to various first-year pages. This book covers the remaining three years of her pagehood, so it's not as detailed as First Test, but it contains a lot of good scenes. Facing down Joren and his friends, with all the show more pages united behind Kel, is one of my favorites; another that stays with me is the whole final sequence with Lalasa and the examinations. And the various gifts, culminating in Peachblossom - we know who's giving them, of course, but Kel is truly bewildered. It's amusing. There's also a little more development of other characters, and a few changes for Kel - not many, her determination keeps her in a pretty straight line. Like this one even better than First Test. show less

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading Tamora Pierce until I picked up the Protector of the Small series and decided to finish reading it. It's been, oh, six or seven years since I completed the Wild Magic and Circle of Magic series. I remember that I devoured those books (book candy!), but when I got to this series, I read the first title of the quartet and then put it down and haven't touched it since.

What was I thinking? This series is wonderful. Perhaps what put me off was the lack of a magical main character. Kel, the heroine of these novels, is a young girl who wants to become a knight in the kingdom of Tortall. But she doesn't have any secret magical gift to aid her; her journey is accomplished through grit and determination, show more overcoming the huge obstacles with sheer will power and courage. I can see that at one time, when I was younger, I would have been disappointed by the magic-less story, but now I find Kel to be perhaps even more compelling than those earlier heroines.

In this second book of the quartet, Kel has already survived her initial testing year, and is proceeding through the remaining three years of being a page (precursor to being a squire, which is precursor to being a knight). As long as she completes the big exams at the end of year four, all is well. Of course, there are many who still don't want her to succeed. The previous book covered one year, this one covers three, in about the same number of pages. However, Pierce does a nice job of not rushing the tempo too much. She hits the high notes, the exciting events that occur in the lives of the students, and summarizes the rest. My only issue was that we did not get to read any real details about the big exams. I understand that the climax of the story had already taken place, so it would have lacked dramatic tension, and yet ... we spent so much time building up to them, it was a shame to just have them referred to and not really written out.

The world of Tortall continues to be unique and engaging, but what makes this book really shine are the characters. I admit it, I'm a sucker for girl power stories. Kel is brave, determined, and stubborn. She's as tall as the boys (taller than some), broad shouldered, and strong. Kudos to Tamora Pierce for not feeling like she had to make Kel beautiful, as well. Her looks are just average, but her personality is fantastic. She does have her feminine side, as well: she is more nurturing than her male classmates, and she starts to have a very girl-like crush on one of them.

Neal, the lanky and sarcastic page that is older than all the others, is a nice counterpoint to Keladry. He was her sponsor the first year, and he is as unlikely a candidate for knighthood as Kel is a match. The addition of feisty Owen, and his adoration of Kel, brings another fun character to the mix. Lalasa, Kel's meek maid, brings us another girl who must learn to protect herself. We even get to see Joren again, the character we love to hate.

Now that I've started the series, I'm eager to finish the rest of the quartet. The next book covers all her years of being a squire, and then we finally get to see Kel accomplish her hard work of becoming a knight in the final novel. I'm almost as excited as Kel is to see the realization of her dream. show less

3.75 stars

This is the 2nd book in the series. Kel has completed her first year to learn to become a knight. She is the only girl, and was bullied and picked on in her first year. Now in her second year, she hires a shy, scared girl (by request of the girl’s uncle) to be a servant to her while she continues to train, along with her friends, and some of her tormentors are still around.

I really enjoyed this. I liked Kel and I liked her friends. I also liked her new servant Lalasa. This one went pretty fast, as it sped through all the remaining years of Kel’s training, so it might have been nice to get more detail as we went along, but I guess being a YA book, it was sped up a bit. It’s certainly a great series for young girls, with show more Kel being such a strong role model, herself. But, of course, I’m enjoying it, too! show less

As with all Tamora Pierce books I loved this one. Page is the second volume in the Protector of the Small quartet. It continues the story of Keladry of Mindelan, the first girl officially trying for her knighthood. After she has gained the right to continue her training in the first book, First Test, she now has the last three years of a page ahead of her. Her life becomes more settled and she gains new friends. But her lessons also increase in difficulty. Lord Wyldon especially seems to make sure that she gets a more difficult task every time she masters an exercise. She also has to live through ordeals outside of the training yards, including fighting bandits and facing her fear of heights. And at the end of her three years stand the show more Big Examinations that are to decide if she is made a squire or fails.

Again Kel is a strong heroine and her compassion for her friends and helpless animals are great. She conveys values that seem to be missing in our modern society all too often, where people rather look away than help. I also loved Lord Wyldon's development. His last conversation with Kel at the end of the novel is one of my favorite in the whole book. Of course it also helped that he has a soft spot for dogs.

The unabridged audiobook is a great experience. It enables you to listen to Kel's story while doing housework or other tedious tasks. Bernadette Dunne does a wonderful job at narrating the story. I think her voice suits the book very well. show less