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sexytinatrainconductress's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Bullying, and Animal death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Kel is the first girl to train as a page in living memory who is known as a girl during her training. Alanna’s previous example is wielded against her, as it’s assumed by unhappy sexists that Alanna only made it through with help. This provides narrative opportunities for challenges that Alanna didn’t face, or at least new angles on familiar topics (such as bullying). Kel feels older than ten, not enough to be jarring, but enough that I had to keep remembering how young she is. She's handling a lot of stress very well, partly because of coping mechanisms she learned while living in an unfamiliar country with her parents.
Nealan is Kel's sponsor and quickly becomes her friend. Gradually she gets more of a social circle, but it's difficult to be the only girl surrounded by boys when many of the adults in charge are also treating her gender as somewhere between an annoyance and an issue. The plot focuses on Kel's first year as a page, specifically the fact of her probation and the bullying amongst the pages. She also has a fear of heights, something which one of her instructors makes her work to mitigate.
This is technically not a sequel, but it’s set in Tortall one year after the conclusion of the Immortals Quartet. It's notable for sneaking in a bit of Daine and Numair while Daine is barely under eighteen and Numair is thirty or so. Jonathan is king and the land is filled with the immortals who remain, of which Spidrens are a constant danger for even wary travelers. Raoul leads the King's Own, and Alanna has been ordered to stay away from Kel, lest her involvement taint the public perception of Kel's success or failure.
The worldbuilding is continued from the previous quartets, rarely pausing to explain things which were given more thorough treatment earlier. This has the effect of subtly updating continuing readers on what previously-met characters are up to now, while keeping the main focus on Keladry’s current problems. The one place this was a bit jarring is there are a lot of changes from Alanna’s time as a page, and the characters often not-so-subtly comment on them. Kel obviously doesn’t have Alanna’s experiences in her head, but she knows what her brothers said of their time in the palace and (conveniently) most of the notable changes stem from sometime after their tenure.
Prior Tortall books have mentioned the Yamani Islands, but this is main introduction to any specifics about them. Kel’s parents were the Tortallan ambassadors to the Yamanis, and when FIRST TEST begins, Kel had spent more of her life there than in Tortall. Most of the details about the Islands seem meant to invoke real-world Western ideas of East Asia (specifically but not only Japan). This shows up in bowing styles, lucky/waving cats, clothing, and (most notably) outward impassiveness and control of emotions.
I've read this many times before as a teenager, but it's been a while, and I was surprised by how much of the plot is Kel dealing with bullying in various ways.
Nealan is Kel's sponsor and quickly becomes her friend. Gradually she gets more of a social circle, but it's difficult to be the only girl surrounded by boys when many of the adults in charge are also treating her gender as somewhere between an annoyance and an issue. The plot focuses on Kel's first year as a page, specifically the fact of her probation and the bullying amongst the pages. She also has a fear of heights, something which one of her instructors makes her work to mitigate.
This is technically not a sequel, but it’s set in Tortall one year after the conclusion of the Immortals Quartet. It's notable for sneaking in a bit of Daine and Numair while Daine is barely under eighteen and Numair is thirty or so. Jonathan is king and the land is filled with the immortals who remain, of which Spidrens are a constant danger for even wary travelers. Raoul leads the King's Own, and Alanna has been ordered to stay away from Kel, lest her involvement taint the public perception of Kel's success or failure.
The worldbuilding is continued from the previous quartets, rarely pausing to explain things which were given more thorough treatment earlier. This has the effect of subtly updating continuing readers on what previously-met characters are up to now, while keeping the main focus on Keladry’s current problems. The one place this was a bit jarring is there are a lot of changes from Alanna’s time as a page, and the characters often not-so-subtly comment on them. Kel obviously doesn’t have Alanna’s experiences in her head, but she knows what her brothers said of their time in the palace and (conveniently) most of the notable changes stem from sometime after their tenure.
Prior Tortall books have mentioned the Yamani Islands, but this is main introduction to any specifics about them. Kel’s parents were the Tortallan ambassadors to the Yamanis, and when FIRST TEST begins, Kel had spent more of her life there than in Tortall. Most of the details about the Islands seem meant to invoke real-world Western ideas of East Asia (specifically but not only Japan). This shows up in bowing styles, lucky/waving cats, clothing, and (most notably) outward impassiveness and control of emotions.
I've read this many times before as a teenager, but it's been a while, and I was surprised by how much of the plot is Kel dealing with bullying in various ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Bullying, Violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death
Minor: War, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, and Suicide
inferiorwit's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Vomit, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Misogyny, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Blood
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal cruelty
charm0nix's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty
manarnia's review
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I love Kel, and I love being in Tortall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Xenophobia, Death, and Death of parent
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I originally read this series when I was in middle school, and I'm planning on re-reading the entire series. I definitely forgot how brutal the beginning is. Within the first 14 pages there is a traumatic animal death. It shocked me, especially since nothing else in this book comes close to that scene.
You can really tell that this is the first in a series as most of the time is spent building the world, characters, and explaining what being a Page entails. We go through their weapon training, horseback riding lessons, and classes, so there isn't exactly a lot of action. I imagine this picks up now that we "know" the world.
I actually kept forgetting that the main character, Kel, is only 10 years old. The Page that is tasked with showing her around and such is 15, and it very often feels like they are the same age. I'm curious to see if we feel the progression of her age as the series goes on, or if she is going to have the same "voice".
Overall I thought this book was ok. It felt a bit slow, and wasn't as intense as I remember. I'm looking forward to seeing how the second book handles the story.
You can really tell that this is the first in a series as most of the time is spent building the world, characters, and explaining what being a Page entails. We go through their weapon training, horseback riding lessons, and classes, so there isn't exactly a lot of action. I imagine this picks up now that we "know" the world.
I actually kept forgetting that the main character, Kel, is only 10 years old. The Page that is tasked with showing her around and such is 15, and it very often feels like they are the same age. I'm curious to see if we feel the progression of her age as the series goes on, or if she is going to have the same "voice".
Overall I thought this book was ok. It felt a bit slow, and wasn't as intense as I remember. I'm looking forward to seeing how the second book handles the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Sexism
rini's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Suicide, and War
victorianrogue's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexism
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, and Vomit
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