Previously Published Review: Squire, Tamora Pierce (Protector of the Small, Book 3)

If you're reading these reviews, you've either read the previous two books, or are still trying to see if you should. Either way, this book is a very good read on its own, and a decent further look at our heroine Kel.

Sadly, I found it not to the standards of the first two. Firstly, the posting Kel recieves is 'tailor-made' to groom her for further adventures. Nothing as serious as the climax of Page ever happens, which makes it difficult for her character to grow in this installment. Her difficulties now are in reconciling her crushes (in regards to, I'll remind readers of how many boys you were 'in love with' at age 14 through 18, and how many of those crushes lasted past summer vacation, let alone an entire year). She also learns the quiet skill of picking her battles, and there is a sadly anti-climactic result for her long-standing enemy. Fitting, but still anti-climactic.

The world is strangely light-hearted, despite onrushing wartime, Kel is strangely capable in a world she's never directly experienced, and ALL of the men she works with accept her without reservations after only a few months of her arrival. This all contrasts with the mood that Pierce cultivated in the first two installments, and I was strangely sad to see it shattered so easily. This almost felt like an intrusion, or a "rest period" for the character.

The mood changes again towards the end, where the build-up to Lady Knight begins, re-establishing the familiar tension faced by our soon-to-be Lady Knight.

**As I have for previous books, here is my 'cautious parent' warning. This book deals frankly with crushes, and the possible results of acting on them. The character deals with it in a 'family-appropriate' way, by asking her mother, but the simple inclusion of this "big talk" and the other references to kissing and passionate emotions may upset some parents. Please Please Please, if you think this will be a concern for you, or if your child is delicate or easily frightened, please be aware that this book is directed more towards OLDER pre-teens. The character is 18 at the end of the book, and considered an adult from the age of 14 when the book begins.

Finally, the climax scene, while not as challenging for the character, deals with magic and necromancy, and this may disturb some readers (or their parents). Be warned - read it first!