Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Lucy

Even though First Test has only 200 pages, the word I would use to describe it best is boring. The story takes place in Tortall, a medieval realm in which many of Tamora Pierces books take place. Keladry of Mindelan, the main character of the book, wants to become a knight and so she applies to be trained. Kel is the first girl to take advantage of the new rule which allows girls to be trained, and therefore faces a lot of unjust treatment from those who still dont approve of female knights. Lord Wyldon, the training master, also prefers to have no female knights. He puts Kel on a year-long probation in which she will have to prove herself and does his best to convince her to go home while she is at the training academy.
Not a lot really happens in this book, the only real action as at the end of the book when the trainees fight a group of spidrens (large spiders with human heads). And even the battle against the spidrens failed to excite me or provide for suspense. The rest of the book basically describes what the trainees learn, that many of the boys treat Kel badly and that Kel and her small band of friends go around protecting other trainees from the older bullies. In addition, Kel is only ten years old which makes it hard to relate to her. First Test is the first book in a series of which I probably wont read the rest.