Tamora Pierce

As the only female page in history to pass the first year of training to become a knight, Keladry of Mindelan is a force to be reckoned with. But even with her loyal circle of friends at her side, Kel’s battle to prove herself isn’t over yet. She is still trying to master her paralyzing fear of heights and keep up with Lord Wyldon’s grueling training schedule. When a group of pages is trapped by bandits, the boys depend on Kel to lead them to safety. The kingdom’s nobles are beginning to wonder if she can succeed far beyond what they imagined. And those who hate the idea of a female knight are getting desperate—they will do anything to thwart her progress.

Protector of the Small: Book 2

Page

When they think you will fail . . . fail to listen.
 
As the only female page in history to pass the first year of training to become a knight, Keladry of Mindelan is a force to be reckoned with. But even with her loyal circle of friends at her side, Kel’s battle to prove herself isn’t over yet. She is still trying to master her paralyzing fear of heights and keep up with Lord Wyldon’s grueling training schedule. When a group of pages is trapped by bandits, the boys depend on Kel to lead them to safety. The kingdom’s nobles are beginning to wonder if she can succeed far beyond what they imagined. And those who hate the idea of a female knight are getting desperate—they will do anything to thwart her progress.

More timely than ever, the Protector of the Small series is Anti-Bullying 101 while also touching on issues of bravery, friendship, and dealing humanely with refugees against a backdrop of an action-packed fantasy adventure.

Monicap

Plot: 4/5
I do love Tamora Pierce, don’t get me wrong. And I did love the plot of this one, as always, I just wish that we had gone into more detail of things AS THEY WERE HAPPENING. I feel like we got a lot of information after the fact. Like, her midwinter as a second year page, we found out that Alanna sent her, like, saddlebags or something along those lines and then it’s like, “Oh, I forgot to tell you but I got Riding Gloves from her in the summer and Gauntlets in the fall”. Also, for that same midwinter, we KNOW that KEl received presents from people other than Alanna, but we were never told who or what. In the first book, there was this little detail, Roald sent her a glass-blown horse that looked like Peachblossom for Midwinter, I really appreciated that detail, and I feel like we don’t get any similar details in this book, and that makes me sad. 

Characters: 5/5
Kel: has less of that Yamani thing that disturbed me in the first book. I feel like it fades the longer she’s away from the Yamanis.

Neal: is still fun and sarcastic

Owen: We meet this kind of chubby little page who overuses the word ‘jolly’ especially in reference to fights. He’s so cute.

Joren: ERG! How could, you, Kel, NOT realize that no matter what he says, he still, and always will be, a jerkface!

Romance Factor: 5/5
There was not an actual ROMANCE in this book. There was a ROMANCE FACTOR.
So, the romance factor here was really cute. 
Definition of a Love Triangle: When one girl cannot choose between two boys. Or one boy cannot choose between girls. Or one person who is bisexual cannot choose between two memebers of the same species that person consider attractive. Or… you know what I mean.
THIS WAS NOT A LOVE TRIANLE.
So, Cleon came back for one Midwinter and it was OBVIOUS he had a crush on Kel. But Kel had been crushing on Neal for quite some time. There was one really cute scene where Neal had his arm around her shoulders and Cleon told him to stop manhandling and then Cleon put his arm around his shoulders. It was a really cute and awesome interaction between the three of them.

Overall grade: 14/15. That’s a really high A. 
I LOVE TAMORA PIERCE!!!

Meagan Fischer 

The author's writing seems to have improved so much in this series compared to her first series in this universe. Whereas the first series suffered greatly for lack of pacing and attention to detail in setting scenes, the pacing in this book feels natural. The protagonist actually looks around her environment and describes things, so I can picture the setting where the story takes place. She also goes more in-depth on her training. She zooms in and out, using a combination of specific detailed scenes where we get in the characters head and have blow-by-blow action described to us, and then some zooming out where time passes more quickly in summarized fashion. There seems to be a balance here that to me was completely off in the first series.

Connor 

It's no secret that Keladry of Mindelan is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters, nor is it a secret that I reread these books almost every year (sometimes more). All I can say is this: whenever I think I can pick a favorite book of this series, I am proved wrong when I start rereading; there is not a single chapter in this series that I dislike.

Page has long been a favorite, and remains so after this most recent re-read. I first read it in seventh grade (finished it during a boring Language Arts class by keeping it under my desk). I remember subtly (or maybe not so subtly; sorry, Mr. Hudson!) turning pages and trying not to cheer as I read the scene with the bandit fight in hill country; I remember being so engrossed I physically could NOT put the book down (thus the reading during class, which I had never previously done). 

So, yes, I love this book. I have for over ten years. More than even that, though, this book reminds me WHY I can't pick a favorite Kel novel, and that's down to the characters. Every dynamic is thoughtfully created, and I always look forward to remembering why I love them--Kel's relationships with Neal, Owen, Lalasa, Wyldon, her mother... they're all carefully written and made, and each one fills this book with a certain joy it's hard to find elsewhere.

ANYWAY TL;DR: DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ TAMORA PIERCE'S PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL SERIES and then come talk to me about them because they are very near and dear to my heart.

Keladry of Mindalen, the first girl to train as a knight since Alanna, is officially a page now, but she's got three more years before she'll be a squire. And those three years are not going to be easy. Kel has to stand up against bullying boys, cruel older sisters, and, as always, the training master, Lord Wyldon!

Page and Squire, the next book in this series, are my two favorite books in the Tortall universe. This one because, once again, of Kel and her solidarity--her friendship with Neal, her new friend Owen, the gentleness and consideration she shows her new maid. 

And yes, the anonymous gift at the end still makes me cry. 

(update, Nov. 2016: this is the second time I've read this book this year and it remains one of the best books I've ever had the delight to re-read.)

Allison Garrett

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Isa s

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 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.

laura

I really enjoyed this story. It was very fast paced and loved both the time we spent in Kel year but also the new characters that we met.

Page Protector of the Small: Book 2

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