Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Squire: Book 3 of the Protector of the Small Quartet | A Tortall Legend
    Unavailable
    Squire: Book 3 of the Protector of the Small Quartet | A Tortall Legend
    Unavailable
    Squire: Book 3 of the Protector of the Small Quartet | A Tortall Legend
    Audiobook10 hours

    Squire: Book 3 of the Protector of the Small Quartet | A Tortall Legend

    Written by Tamora Pierce

    Narrated by Bernadette Dunne

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When Keladry of Mindelan is chosen by the legendary Lord Raoul to be his squire, the conservatives of the realm hardly think she's up to the job. Kel quickly proves her ability as a jouster, warrior, and guardian of a fiery griffin, ultimately earning respect and admiration among the men, as well as the affection of a fellow squire. In addition to coping with the challenges of a new romance and a life in the royal guard, Kel must also prepare for the infamous "Ordeal," the last challenge that stands between her and her dream of knighthood. . .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateDec 4, 2007
    ISBN9780739361849
    Unavailable
    Squire: Book 3 of the Protector of the Small Quartet | A Tortall Legend
    Author

    Tamora Pierce

    Beloved author Tamora Pierce has written a great number of books, including the Song of the Lioness quartet, The Immortals quartet, the Circle of Magic quartet, the Protector of the Small quartet, The Circle Opens quartet, the Trickster series, The Will of the Empress, Melting Stones, the Beka Cooper series, and The Numair Chronicles. She lives in upstate New York with various cats, other four-legged animals, and birds who feed in her yard, and can be e-visited at Tamora-Pierce.net.

    More audiobooks from Tamora Pierce

    Related to Squire

    Related audiobooks

    YA Historical For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      King Arthur: Knight’s Tale

      Dec 1, 2020

      King Arthur: Knight’s Tale
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Life Of Kyle

      Aug 5, 2021

      Kyle Katarn’s introduction came in the Doom-esque Star Wars shooter Dark Forces. Starting out his career as a member of the Imperial Army, the game opens with him having defected and working for the Rebel Alliance. He is ultimately tasked with disman

      1 min read

    • Article

      Book Reviews

      Dec 11, 2018

      Nigel Calder Adlard Coles, $25 Few sailing writers are as knowledgeable or as adventurous as Nigel Calder, SAIL’s longtime technical guru. Never afraid to stick his boat’s bow where others fear to venture, Calder has earned his stripes as a cruising

      1 min read

    • Article

      Miracle World Tour

      Jul 9, 2020

      Miracle World Tour
      2 min read

    • Article

      Should Camilla BE QUEEN?

      Apr 13, 2021

      Should Camilla BE QUEEN?
      2 min read

    • Article

      West Country blues

      Apr 5, 2023

      By Catrina Davies riverrun £18.99 Anyone who wants to immerse themselves into the bittersweet realities of rural life must read this strange and beautiful book. The day-to-day existence of a true English countryman is, after all, about as far away fr

      3 min read

    • Article

      OF MIST & MYTH

      Feb 4, 2021

      OF MIST & MYTH
      10 min read

    • Article

      Reckoning ball

      Feb 12, 2024

      Reckoning ball
      7 min read

    • Article

      Reckoning Ball

      Feb 1, 2024

      Reckoning Ball
      7 min read

    • Article

      Reckoning Ball

      Feb 20, 2024

      Reckoning Ball
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Northman

      Apr 20, 2022

      The Northman
      1 min read

    • Article

      Historical Record

      May 3, 2022

      With stakes like a vacant throne and realm melding, the base story, which pitted you against Daedric Prince Molag Bal on a quest to recover your soul, ticked some key Elder Scrolls boxes. Story updates included the orc-focused Orsinium, and The Dark

      1 min read

    • Article

      Skye’s The Prize

      Aug 21, 2020

      Skye’s The Prize
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Stardust Thief

      May 18, 2022

      RELEASED 19 MAY 468 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook Author Chelsea Abdullah Publisher Orbit Books Forget Disney’s Aladdin, in this opening salvo of The Sandsea Trilogy, Chelsea Abdullah breathes new life into the quest for a magic lamp, creating a m

      1 min read

    • Article

      Over Realming

      Oct 19, 2021

      Over Realming
      2 min read

    • Article

      Grave New World

      Jan 11, 2022

      Grave New World
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Long Way Home | Books

      Oct 26, 2019

      "When two persons wish to come together, there is always a way." The final proclamation of Irshad Abdulkadir's Prodigal, captures a leitmotif of the whole novel, that of a voyage full of hope and courage, which nevertheless (in the silence that follo

      1 min read

    • Article

      How To Train As A Knight

      Mar 27, 2020

      How To Train As A Knight
      2 min read

    • Article

      Battle Of Cresson

      Oct 1, 2021

      Battle Of Cresson
      3 min read

    • Article

      Raby Castle

      Mar 2, 2023

      Raby Castle
      5 min read

    • Article

      – Queen And The Sea

      Feb 8, 2022

      – Queen And The Sea
      1 min read

    Reviews for Squire

    4/5

    975 ratings31 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I have so much love in me for Keladry. I first read this book in 7th grade when I discovered Tamora Pierce's books and fell in love with fantasy. Tamora Pierce's books, especially the protector of the small quartet, have always and will always have a special place in my heart because of how much they mean to me and how nostalgic I feel reading them. They are very, very special to me and I have always considered them to be completely underrated. Nostalgia aside, First Test is just a wonderful book on it's own. It's not too long, just short of 230 pages, but the story and the worldbuilding don't suffer because of it's length. I do think it helps to have read the song of the lioness series and the immortals series before reading this but the book still makes plenty of sense without knowing anything about those books so you don't have to read them.Kel and Neal are wonderful characters and I really enjoy their friendship. I also love how some of the other pages opinion of Kel changes over the course of the book and they also become really good friends with Kel.It's hard for me to explain my love for this series and how much it means to me and because of that I can't really give the book the review it deserves. Just know that I really, really, really love this series and I highly recommend it, especially if you're just getting into high fantasy.
    • 5/5
      This book is set in Pierce's Tortall universe which is a classic fantasy world, it is not the first book in the universe, but I like this one better as an adult reader. If you are 12 you might like Alanna better - go for it. The book is about Keladry who wants to become a knight in a world where only one other woman has done that in 200 years and the other woman disguised as a boy to make it. Keladry wants to train as a knight with the boys. It is very much about determination, about not accepting the glass ceiling, about working within a hostile organization, about fighting bullies. It is also a book about friendship and about a teenage girl with male friends who she is not romantically involved with. Keladry is focused and ditermited and so freaking kickass.
    • 4/5
      I continue to be amazed by how much Tamora Pierce grew as a writer between the first and second arcs of this series, and this one. I appreciate all the details that go into the setting, as well as the pacing, which is the best improvement (her previous works sometimes went way too fast at important moments, like the climax of the book!).

      I have ongoing 'cringe' moments when I read certain things that to my modern ears sound culturally insensitive (her portrayals of other cultures within this universe are laden with eurocentrism). It seems she improved her consent game somewhat by this book though. A boy still kisses the protagonist without asking first, but is less pushy than some of the love interests of her other female hero.

      I will definitely be listening to the final book in this arc to round out what has been a 15 year journey for me --I first picked up the first Keladry book when I was 11 or 12 at a library while visiting my aunt, and never came back to it until the past year.
    • 4/5
      A young girl in a traditional fantasy world wants to train as a page with the boys and one day be a knight but runs into all kinds of resistance from the established patriarchy. She eventually proves her worth, of course.Standard fare for this particular trope; it was a fun but nothing extraordinary. Perfect for if you want an easy fantasy read that doesn't require a lot of effort.
    • 5/5
      This is a good book for 6th graders to read. #1 it is about a 10 year old and begins in September. #2 It is about someone having a goal and being really committed to achieving it. #3 It has plenty of action and the things Kel has to deal with help her to grow. In short most kids will identify with the story.
    • 4/5
      I love Keladry's story almost as much as Alanna's, the trials to become a knight are fascinating and Pierce's characters are always the most interesting.
    • 3/5
      "Virtual repeat of 1st SotL book with gender politics. Yamani add-ins were nice, as were the Owen"
    • 5/5
      Keladry is, quite frankly, the best female hero I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. Shockingly mature for her age, she faces challenges that most young girls don't have to worry about (as well as some challenges all girls DO have to worry about). As the first female knight since the Lioness, who masqueraded as a man to complete her knighthood, Keladry has to be strong and stoic despite her age. I would recommend this book to anyone in just about any age group. I first read it when I was eleven, and I still reread the whole series about once a year over ten years later. It has the perfect blend of inspiration, fantasy, realism, and adventure. Throughout the series there is just a hint of romance without affecting the plot or even the characters. Over all, I think this is Tamora Pierce's best series (and I do like them all).
    • 4/5
      I'm still very pleased with Ms. Pierce. Keladry's another great character.

      The main source I use to see what age group a book is marketed to lists this as YA, 12 and up. I found this first book of the quartet to read more like middle grade or that 11 to 14 or 15 that straddles MG & YA which I labeled juvenile-ya among my bookshelves here. It lists the couple books I checked from the Song of the Lioness as 11 to 14 and that series read more like YA to me.
    • 3/5
      After King Jonathan took the throne, he decreed that women could train as knights as well. But more than a decade has passed since Alanna was unveiled as a female knight, and still no other female member of a noble house has come forth to be trained. No one--until Keladry. The daughter of ambassadors, Kel spent her childhood in lands where women were trained warriors, and intends to become one herself. Jonathon's hide-bound nobles aren't pleased with this change of tradition, and to placate them, Jonathan agrees that Kel will be merely a probationary page, subject to being tossed out at her first failure.

      Kel, however, is too damn awesome for that crap. She's the kind of person who, when she discovers her lance has been unfairly weighted with lead, keeps training with the weighted lance in order to become stronger. No matter what they throw at her, she rises to the challenge.

      This book was so much fun to read! Energizing and inspiring and thrilling--altogether my favorite kind of wish-fullfillment fantasy.
    • 4/5
      I like Keladry, but this first book has relatively few of my favorite scenes. The world is already quite familiar to me - I read Alanna as the books came out - so there's not a lot of worldbuilding going on (that I notice). The characters that are introduced are mostly pretty opaque - Kel herself, and to some extent Neal, reveal themselves at least in part. Lord Wyldon, though, keeps as bland a face as Kel's Yamani stoneface - until his last appearance, we get basically no insight into him. Kel's enemies among the pages, the various senior squires and knights and others in the palace, and even the friends she makes among the pages are little more than background and very simple actions - _why_ does Joren behave that way? Why does Baron Myles offer friendship? No clues, beyond the actions themselves. Which is not to say it's not an enjoyable story - I think I like Keladry best of all the Tortallan heroes. Just - this isn't my favorite of her quartet. Next, please!
    • 5/5
      This was my very first Tamora Pierce book. I read it at age 12, and it started a love for this author that has not swayed to this day.
    • 5/5
      I can't get enough of these books!
    • 3/5
      This is the first of a series set in the same world as the Alanna books, but a decade or so later. Keladry is the first person to take advantage of the King's decree to allow girls to train as knights. She is ridiculously good at everything she does, which is useful, as the royal training master thinks that girls shouldn't fight.I found it rather frustrating to read - lots of 'underdog gets picked on', and wouldn't you know it, it is *the girl* who points out the error of everyone's ways. Reminded me a lot of Eight Cousins (Louisa Alcott), where the one female cousin is charged with keeping the rest of them on the straight and narrow. Did like the line about noble women fighting "What does he think that they do when the raiders come when the men folk are away, embroidery?" Does present a lot of prejudiced comments, along the lines that are still trotted out by the media (don't know if real people think it) about women in the military, and then tries to debunk them. However, with just one female, not sure that that can happen. And yet, found it a bit heavy on the propaganda, which is probably good, given the age group that it is aimed at.
    • 4/5
      3.5 starsKeladry is 10-years old and it’s been 10 years since girls have been allowed to apply to be a page, in order to later become a knight. However, no girl has tried for it, until Kel. Unfortunately, the trainer of the pages, Lord Wyldon, doesn’t think girls should be allowed, so he puts her on a 1-year probation; no boy has ever had a probationary period. So, she is not only set apart from the others because she’s a girl, she is also on probation. This doesn’t bode well for how many of the other boys treat her. I enjoyed this! It’s children’s or YA, so not “deep”, but certainly enjoyable. Kel did seem much more mature than 10-years old, but mostly I just ignored that. It’s less than 200 pages, so also a quick read. I definitely enjoyed it enough to continue the series. I’m happy to see there are only 4 books to this series (though it is also part of a larger “world” with other books focusing on other characters in that world, as well).
    • 4/5
      All 10-year-old Keladry wants is to be a knight, someone who can protect those who can’t protect themselves. According to the proclamation issued by King Jonathon of Tortall 10 years ago, Kel has every right to try for her shield even if no other girls have stepped forward before now. Kel should be able to go through the four years of page training and schooling just like the boys. She should be able to become a squire and serve a knight for four more years. She should be able to earn her knighthood like everyone else, but Lord Wyldon, the page training master, has other ideas. “Girls are fragile, more emotional, easier to frighten. They are not as strong in their arms and shoulders as men. They tire easily. This girl would get any warriors who serve with her killed on some dark night.” That’s what Wyldon thinks and the only way he will accept Kel is on a one-year probationary period – if she does anything wrong, fails at anything, she’s out. No boy has ever had to have a probation year; it’s just not fair, but Kel accepts the deal knowing the task she’s set for herself may be impossible: change Wyldon’s mind and prove she’s meant to be a knight. Wyldon is far from the only problem Kel faces: the training is grueling, immortal and magical creatures haunt Tortall’s lands, and the other pages don’t appreciate having a girl set in their midst. Kel may not have magic like Alanna, the only current Lady Knight, but all of Tortall will soon learn that Kel is not about to back down from this challenge. Kel will do whatever it takes to prove she’s just as good as any boy and she will become a knight. Listened to the Listening Library CD edition in September 2007, but I've also read this multiple times. The Protector of the Small books are some of my favorites from Pierce; by the time she wrote these she had really hit her stride. Kel is a great character complete with flaws as well as strengths. With each set of books that take place in Tortall, Pierce increases the complexity and reality of the kingdom. The Listening Library CD was performed by Bernadette Dunne and was fairly well done although it took me a while to warm up to her interpretation of Kel's voice. I look forward to the release of the rest of the quartet on audio. March 2010 Cover 2 Cover selection for Tamora's visit to our library!
    • 4/5
      A lovely re-read, this series helped ease my Tamora Pierce craving while still too close to my last Alanna/Daine re-reads to be able to do back to that series. Kelandry on her own isn't quite as unique (more of a blend of both of the prior heroines I mentioned), but I like how Pierce explores a character without magic succeeding in this world.
    • 5/5
      Keladry of Mindelan is a young girl, and the only girl to legally try for kinghthood. She is allowed to train under probation and throughout her first year has to physically keep up with the boys and endures non-stop bullying and harassment. The boys put extra weights in her training weapons, force her to run errands and pick fights. Kel does, however have a group of close and reliable friends who she completes her studies with and spends her evenings with. From previous series, Alanna is Kel's idol, someone who Kel looks up to, and later also become Nealan of Queenscove's kinght mistress. Kel is a loveable character and her experiences and troubles make the story seem more real and believable. This book twists the typical 'knight in shining armor' storyline and is fun to read over again, more than once. Overall, a 4.5/5
    • 4/5
      I loved the Alanna series when I first read it years ago and remember loving this series just as much. I was thinking about it the other day and so I picked it up, knowing it wouldn't take long to reread. It didn't and I enjoyed it the second time around. Kel is a lovable character and any story about knight training hooks me right off the bat. I believe I still enjoyed Alanna a little more than Kel but this fiery ten-year old has her own charm.
    • 4/5
      Keladry of Mindelan wants to become a knight. However, she is the first girl to try openly, and many people don't think she should. In her first year, she has to deal with discrimination, bullying, weighted weapons, and an unruly horse, as well as otherworldly enemies. Fans of spunky heroines, fantasy, and noble adventure will love this series. Ages 10-16. Recommended purchase.
    • 4/5
      A fun read recounting the story of Kel, a young girl who wants to become a knight, but she meets with resistance and prejudice as she takes up her training at the royal palace in the kingdom of Tortall. However, Kel is determined and manages to forge friendships and conquer her own fears. In addition, a few recognizable characters reappear from Tamora Pierce's previous fantasy series and First Test proves to be a promising beginning to a new series.
    • 4/5
      In "First Test," author Tamora Pierce introduces her fans to the only girl to try for her knighthood since Alanna the Lioness earned her shield disguised as a man and King Jonathan threw open the knighthood to women. Unfortunately, the king has to keep his conservative nobles happy, and therefore consents to put our protagonist through a year of probation as a page, something the boys never have had to do. Keladry of Mindelan is delightfully different from our old friend Alanna. Kel is blessed with different physical strengths as well as the ability to keep her emotions at bay, so while Kel still has to deal with bullies and hazing, the fact that she is practically Alanna's opposite as well as openly female makes for a very different reading experience than that of the Song of the Lioness quartet. This new series is a joy to read and I highly recommend it to young girls.
    • 4/5
      Following in the steps of Alana 'the Lioness' is Keladry (Kel) of Mindelan, a 10-year-old is dead-set on becoming a knight like her hero. Unlike Alana though, Kel doesn't have magic to help her. Instead she has greater bulk and height, as well as training from an island where the marshal arts are taugh -- think Tai Chi, Judo, Kendo.The setting is the court of King Jonathan of Tortall. The landscape has changed from that of the Lioness Quartet because of the Immortal Wars wherein magical creatures have been let loose on the world.The other thing that is different is that much of the forward progress that Alana made has vanished. The new knight trainer, Lord Wyldon, strongly believes women and girls have no place as knights. He's so stubborn that he insists he will quit unless the King a) makes Kel's first year probationary, and b) makes Alana swear that she will not communicate with the girl during that time. And as you can well imagine, such an attitude rubs off on the boys, who are just as mean to Kel as they were to Alana in her own time as a page. This book is great. However it gets boring near the end because they do the samething over and over again. But I like it myself because King Johnathon is giving Kel a chance. I like this because girls can be just as strong as men. What I don't like in this book though is that Alana and Daine aren't in the book as much. Overall it's a great 5/5.
    • 4/5
      Have ever been told the story of Jean of Arc? Well if you like that you'll love First Test by Tamora Pierce. Keladry of Mindelan, a ten year old is the first "GIRL" to attend trainning for knights in the mystical and medival world of Tortall. You'll feel like your in the book, beside Kel as you read through the pages of Tamora Pierce's First Test. Keladry of Mindelan also known as Kel is the first girl to ever attend knight trainning after trainning in the royal palace of the Yamani's for six years. after arriving in in her new school in the land of Tortall, she soon finds the difficulties of being a girl in a man's world. she meets the trainning master lord Wyldon who is determined to fail her along with Joren and many others wanting the same, however there are just as many who want to help like the prince Roald and her caring sponsor Neal. Kel is placed on probation by lord Wyldon and given more to endure by her fellow pages and her teachers then any of the male pages through her first year in knight trainning. Sabotage, bullying, and sexism is part of Kel's daily schedule as she struggles to get through her first year. Tamora Pierce's First Test is like a story about Jean of Arc's childhood and represents many struggles that women have in the modern world. It's one the must read books of the year.
    • 4/5
      Set in the Tortall universe, Keladry, like Alanna, seeks to be a lady knight, and at first the kinship with those first Pierce books featuring Alanna seems quite apparent. But openly female, Keladry faces a different set of challenges, and she's very much a different personality. I fast fell in love with Keladry and the stoic exterior beneath which there is a real chivalry. I particularly liked the arc of Wyldon of Cavall's character in this book.
    • 4/5
      Friends have been telling me to read Tamora Pierce for years, but I didn’t want to read something where the idea of a female warrior as a main character, was shoved down my throat. But I was wrong! Pierce is a great writer who seems to make her heroines sweat and bleed to succeed. This is the first book in the Protector of the Small series, and is about a ten year old girl called Kel. Her dream is to become a lady knight, and she has to use her wits and her courageous spirit to overcome obstacles and prove that she has what it takes to make it. Kel is very believable and very relatable. She’s an ambitious girl, and I’m excited to read what happens next! Definitely a good read for all ages.
    • 3/5
      This was a refreshing story seeing a heroine in a medieval fantasy setting. I don't read much fantasy, but it usually seems to be a male dominated field for heroes. In this story, ten-year-old Keladry of Mindalen, daughter of nobles, serves as a page but must prove herself to the males around her if she is ever to fulfill her dream of becoming a knight. This book would be excellent for the middle school LMC especially for young girls looking to read about a non-traditional heroine. This book is part of a series of books which the TL may also look at to include in the collection.
    • 4/5
      This was the first of Tamora Pierce's books I ever read, and I was instantly hooked. Keladry is a great pre-teen heroine who grows over the next four books into a great teen heroine: a great role model for girls everywhere. She's smart and fun and works hard. She's a great friend and does the honorable thing, no matter how difficult. Pierce writes about characters you can't help but love in stories you can't wait to read. I love her stuff!
    • 5/5
      Another great series by Pierce and not to be missed. I hope we get a follow up series on this one as the ending is quite as tied up as i would like!
    • 4/5
      The best of the tamora pierce series, followed by the circle of magic series. Great for any girl!