While Tamora Pierce has been building her Tortall Universe since the late 80s, First Test marks the first adaptation of 
her YA novels into graphics with the promise of more to come. This graphic is the first in the Protector of the Small series of Pierce’s tales which follows Keladry (Kel) as she becomes the first girl after the rise of the Lioness Lady Knight Alanna to enter knight training. Despite girls now being allowed to train, Kel immediately faces opposition not only from other students who vandalize her room and tamper with her training weapons, but from instructors as well.
She’s placed on probation simply for being a girl and her earlier training is dismissed as “brutish” and not worthy of a knight. In a world where magic swirls around the edges of life and constantly threatens to disturb it, Kel must work against ever growing obstacles to make it through her training and defend those who cannot defend themselves. The stakes are real and high with possible failure being more than just a lost knighthood, but lives at stake. It’s a familiar story of working from within to change a broken system, building strength out of presumed weakness, and finding friends and support in those who believe in you.
First Test is an interesting choice for the first adaption of Pierce’s books. With the plot crossing over and through multiple other storylines in the Tortall Saga, Kel’s story sees many of Pierce’s most popular characters on the outer edges of the story, peeking in and out in near cameos. The graphic gives these cameos weight, but not always context. If the reader is not already familiar with the series, the impact of these moments would be lost, even confusing. It lays the groundwork for future adaptations, but may not give a new reader enough to grasp onto to seek out those adaptations.
Additionally, while this was a genre bending feminist piece when it was published in 1999, with a present day mentality, this graphic just doesn’t seem to say enough or present what it’s saying differently enough. The story, faithfully adapted by Devin Grayson, may not present a new reader with a reason to keep reading. In a literary field where strong female characters fighting to occupy their own space are now much easier to find, this version of First Test risks fading into the background.
The graphic is at its strongest in moments of action. Becca Farrow pounds a tremendous amount of emotion and movement into her wordless scenes and her illustrations of the many physical fights Kel is forced into are exciting and fluid. In these moments, the book sings only to slow down again during exposition.
For readers familiar with Pierce’s universe and characters, this graphic provides a fun, different way to interact with the figures and stories they have already grown to love. For new readers, I’m not sure this gives them ample room to fall in love with Pierce’s world. A graphic adaptation of Alana the Lioness, the first and arguably most popular of the Tortall Universe books, is scheduled to publish through Abrams Fanfare in the Spring of 2025. Further fleshing out the graphic versions of this world may allow First Test more room to shine.
First Test: Protector of the Small, Book 1
By Tamora Pierce, Devin Grayson,
Art by Becca Farrow
Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024
ISBN: 9780307931566
Publisher Age Rating: 12+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
