First Test
- 240
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“First Test” opens Tamora Pierce’s “Protector of the Small” series with Keladry of Mindelan, a heroine many readers warm to. Across her first year as a page she asks only to be treated like the boys, and she trains for knighthood without giving up her femininity. Some readers find the pace slow until late in the book, and others are uncomfortable with how a Japanese-inspired culture is presented. A short, light start to a four-book series.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
First Test is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the series Protector of the Small. It details the first year of Keladry of Mindelan's training as a page of Tortall.
Reading order · Protector of the Small
Full order & progress →- First TestThis book
8.18.1 / 10 - Page
8.18.1 / 10 - Squire
8.28.2 / 10 - Lady Knight
8.28.2 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 152 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 51% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.9 | 20 | 13% |
| Hardcover | 8.1 | 132 | 87% |
Frequently asked
How long is First Test?
It has 240 pages — shorter than 98% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 8.1, the closest to this book.
