I was thrilled to see that First Test is getting a graphic novel edition. Looking at it as a long time fan of Tamora Pierce, I thought it was adapted really well, the text and images worked well to communicate the story and characteristics of each of the characters. I look forward to reading the rest of the quartet when it is adapted later!

I haven't read the text version of First Test, so I was excited to come to this graphic novel without any preconceived notions/spoilers. The art in this book is such a strong point; it is well executed, and the coloring is well done. I'm always gonna love a gal with moxie, so Kel is an instant win for me. I enjoyed the characters and plot to the point I'm considering reading the text version of First Test. I think this will be a great accompaniment for teens who struggle with reading the text. This graphic novel does a particularly good job of utilizing color and composing panels to convey mood and work with the story. The only part of the artwork I struggled with was the need for more backgrounds (after one is established, we are occasionally sentenced to float in the color void). Overall, this was a well-executed (re)telling, and the characters and plot were easy to follow, with lovely artwork throughout.

This story follow Kel's journey to become a knight. She has to overcome a instructor who doesn't believe she should be allowed to become a knight and try to find her place amoug the boys. It's very intense with Kel having to go through a lot of physical trials. This is the graphic novel version of the book by Tamora Pierce and does a good job conveying the main plot of the book

This is a very well done adaptation of Tamora Pierce's novel, "First Test." It's a very faithful adaptation while still adapting it into a new format for a new audience. I would recommend this to anyone who loved the novel and wants to experience it again, as well as any graphic novel fan (of any age) who is curious about the story.

A fantastic adaptation of one of my favorite books. It kept the heart of Pierce's story and the illustrations really felt like Tortall.

I liked the moments they chose to use. The graphics were great. Story flowed well. I wanted the next book.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have loved Tamora Pierce ever since I was in 5th grade. When I saw that this story was turning into a graphic novel I had to read it! I love that this story is getting a new life breathed into it.
I loved it when I was a kid and I love it now! I hope that all of her stories get this.

This did a great job of capturing the first book, which is one of my favorite series. I just wish a little bit more time had gone into building the relationships between Kel and the other pages. I understand it's harder to do in a graphic novel format, but I would have liked a few more pages of them all bonding. The camp scenes also come out of nowhere. But overall well done! Can't wait for the next one.

I read quite a bit of Tamora Pierce when I was younger. I know I read the Immortals and The Circle Opens, and I think I read the Song of the Lioness books, but I don’t have any recollection of The Protector of the Small series…which is a shame, because this was GREAT. Rest assured, I do plan to start picking up Tamora Pierce and reading/re-reading them.

This was a lovely and quick read, with very nice art throughout. The characters and the story were quite compelling, and I just had such a good time reading it…even if I was annoyed by how some of Kel’s fellow pages and some of the training masters treated her. Honestly, I love a main character who knows what their goal is and is determined to find a way to make it happen.

Kel wants to be a knight, and darn it, she’s going to work as hard as she needs to in order to make it happen. No matter what challenges they put in front of her, no matter what anyone else thinks or says or does to try and hamper her progress, Kel refuses to give up.

Honestly I wanted more. This story was great and easy to follow, but I wanted more details and descriptions (which obviously means I need to go read the novel–it’s not a criticism of the graphic novel at all).

I don’t know how quickly I’m going to get around to reading/re-reading Tamora Pierce, but I know it is something on my to-do list, so perhaps I’ll be bringing back Middle Grade Monday and alternating between Manga and Middle Grade on Mondays. We’ll just have to see what happens.

A fun adaptation of a fantastic fantasy novel to bring it to a new generation.

If you love Tamora Pierce and enjoy graphic novels, this is a must read, and I’ll be recommending it to my older students who have an interest in fantasy but prefer a graphic novel format.

I was so excited to see that the beloved Tamora Pierce series, Protector of the Small, from my childhood was being adapted into a graphic novel! The First Test is the first book of the original quartet to be adapted, and it proved to be a wonderful adaptation perfect for today’s Middle Grade and Young Adult audiences, especially graphic novel lovers like many of my students.

>>❤️ What I loved: This graphic novel is full of great illustrations and dialogue, and it really captures the spirit of the original in a new and exciting way. Kelandry is such a relatable character and a great role model for standing up for what you believe in and defying other people’s expectations. It was exciting to see her character come to life and follow her development in the graphic novel.

I can’t wait for the next installment in the Protector of the Small Graphic Novel series. This is an instant buy for my school library, and would find a great home on many bookshelves.

**Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4.5-5)**

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Tamora Pierce, and Random House Children's/Random House Graphic, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

This is the story of a girl named Keladry. More than anything Keladry wants to be a knight. However, because she is a woman she is facing extra obstacles in order to be seen as an equal among her peers.
In this graphic novel she experiences her first year as a knight school student and uses her bravery to prove herself amongst her fellow classmates. Especially the older classmates make it as hard for her and the other first years to prove themselves as future knights. She gets into fights and has to work harder then everyone else as extra obstacles become stacked against her.

Keladry is proof of what you can do when you really and truly want something. She takes every obstacle as an opportunity to prove her worth. She thinks of ways to go the extra mile and show she can do as much and even more then her male peers. She is truly inspiring.

I recommend First Test and for many of you who have grown up reading Tamara’s words you will truly love this adaption of “First Test”.

Keladry dreams of being a knight. It’s why she’s scrambling to put the new rule that allows women to train to become knights to good use. Unfortunately, she faces a lot of pushback, and even her own training master wants her to fail. Kel is extremely determined, so she does her best to ignore all the hazing and lack of support from the other people in training. When everything is unfairly stacked against her, she’s determined to do her best and help anyone she can along the way.

I’ve never read anything from Tamora Pierce before, so I went into the story without any expectations based on the original work. Now that I’ve read and enjoyed this illustrated adaptation, I’m looking forward to checking out the original story. I loved following Kel as she faces unfair rules and expectations. She knows that it’s unfair, but she’s also determined to show everyone just how wrong they are. It was great to see how many characters were on her side to begin with and who starts to join them as the story progresses.

The artwork was amazing and really brought the story to life. I can’t compare this to the original work, so I can’t tell you if it’s an adaptation that stays true to the story. However, I do think it was an excellent read and that there are a lot of people who will enjoy it. I know for me, it’s made me want to go and check out Tamora Pierce’s work, which I’ve surprisingly never read before.

For the first time, Tortall is allowing girls to join the training to be knights. But Keladry, the first girl to volunteer, is told she had to do a year of probation to make sure she's cut out for it first. Kel has to prove to everyone around her that she's as worthy of being a page and eventually a knight as everyone else.

I'm a long-time Tamora Pierce fan, and the Protector of the Small books were my favorite when I was younger. I was very curious about how I would like a graphic novel interpretation. I'm happy to say I was pleased with it overall.

While I didn't personally love some of the artistic interpretations (for some reason, the way Alanna looked just seemed too young and inexperienced to me), some of the characters are conveyed very well through the art. Neal is appropriately dramatic and hilarious in this version. Kel's character also comes across well, demonstrating how seriously she takes looking out for the people around her. Unfortunately, other characters we don't get to know quite as well. Also, Raoul has red hair in this? Don't like that!

While the story is condensed, it works well for this book for the most part. The most important events come across well, and important character moments aren't abandoned for the sake of the shorter format. However, the graphic novel format does make it harder to convey information about the world. Magic doesn't have time to be much of an aspect, so the one scene that heavily involves magic comes more out of the blue. It also would be unclear to readers why there is already a lady knight when Kel is the first one allowed to be trained if you don't have the benefit of the book's explanations or knowledge of Alanna's story. I do wonder if readers not familiar with the series would be confused at times reading this.

This graphic novel captures the essence of the story and characters that are loved by so many. Current fans are likely to enjoy this, and I hope this format brings more readers into the world of Tortall.

First Test is a colorful and beautifully illustrated graphic novel adaptation. The story was well told and the amount of text was perfect. Highly recommended for all YA collections to bring new interest to Pierce's books.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce & Devin Grayson (Adapter) was a solid middle-grade graphic novel about a young, strong girl determined to become the first girl knight to serve the king based on the original novel by Tamora Pierce. I cannot speak to the adaptation aspect as I'm not familiar enough with the original work. Still, as someone who was first introduced to this story in this format, I can say it was very satisfying and there were no confusing or unexplained sections. I Would enjoy reading more graphic volumes of the series if they make them.

A Tamora Pierce fan since childhood, I can’t tell you how excited I was to see this exciting graphic novel adaptation. Kel has always wanted to be a knight, so she is thrilled to be accepted as the first female page in Tortall. Less thrilling is the fact that her first year is probationary, due to the austere training master’s conviction that ladies cannot (and should not) achieve knighthood. Between Lord Wyldon’s intolerance, rough bullying from older pages, and the occasional beastly immortal rampage, Kel’s harsh introduction to knighthood is anything but boring. Becca Farrow’s vibrant illustrations bring Pierce’s evocative novel to life, and readers will be eagerly anticipating more of Kel’s adventures. Fierce, feminist, and fun!

This was excellently done! I can't wait for the rest of these books to come out as graphic novels. The art was great and only helped to enhance an already amazing storyline. Will be waiting impatiently for more!

Set in the world of Song of the Lioness, this book is an adaption of the novel of the same name. While I have read the original series, I was going into this graphic novel blind to First Test. And I was so very happy with what I encountered there, it makes me want to return both to the original series and to this book.

The art is lovely, which is always a great thing to have in a graphic novel.

I loved Keladry from the second I got to meet her. She is a strong, brave female lead and I think I great role model character to young girls. I appreciate how she stands up for both herself and others, even against high odds, and not only stands her ground and completes the task she is given but excels. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Whether you have read the novel it was adapted from or this is your first time here, I think it is a great read.

I have been a Tamora Pierce fan since Middle School and she still remains my favorite author of all time. As a Librarian, I have tried to get kids to give her books a chance. But, at least at the school I am at, the kids are less interested in Fantasy and more into Sci-Fi/Adventure/Realistic. That does not mean there isn't still an audience but it definitely feels like its not in vogue like it used to be. That was why I was so excited to see there would be a graphic novel adaptation of First Test. So many older books have gotten a second life as graphic novels. While its been a minute since I reread this particular series from the Tortall Universe, I thought the adaptation was well done. It manages to keep the major plot lines in the story without missing too much. It was also exciting to see the fantasy aspects illustrated and outside of the imagination. At the beginning of the story though, transitions between scenes did feel abrupt, though this passed further in the story. In addition, I thought it was interested that they would adapt this series over the ones that came before. You can absolutely read this series first, as I did as a kid. But, earlier series do provide background for the world of Tortall and characters like Alanna. Kids reading the graphic novel will really have no way of knowing that Alanna pretended to be a boy to become the first Lady Knights in hundreds of years and that Kel is such a big deal because she is the first girl to try with the new rules in place. This is all just implied, but does allow for a more casual reading experience. Overall, I think the graphic novel is good and worth investing in. I will definitely be trying to get it into kids hands. Hopefully the series will be completed with many more additions. (Thanks to Random House Children and Netgalley for the ARC)