Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet was a big part of my childhood. The idea that a girl could do something that was traditionally only for boys…that was HUGE back then. You just didn’t see stories like that. I dreamed of being like Alanna and showing sexist boys that I could hold my own with them. Pierce’s books were a game changer in the young adult fantasy genre and deserve all the accolades.

This graphic novel will introduce Kel, a 10-year-old girl who wants more than anything to become a knight, to a brand-new audience of children and teens, and I am *here* for it, people. I want my kids to read this, especially my son. Putting the original novel in this format will most definitely reach a wider audience, and it’s a smart move.

I don’t want to give anything away if you’re not familiar with the author’s work, but this is a coming of age story for the first female page in the country’s history. Alanna paved the way, but she did so disguised as a boy for a long time. Kel is the first knight-in-training who everyone knows is female from the beginning. How will she measure up, especially amongst all of the males who think a woman’s place is in the kitchen?

Give ‘em hell, Kel.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children’s/Random House Graphic, Tamora Pierce, Devin Grayson and Becca Farrow, both for gifting me this eARC and for bringing this timeless story to life again in such an exciting way. All opinions are my own.

I received an advanced readers copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest review from Net Galley an RandomHouse. I have been dying to get my hands on this. The original book, by Tamora Pierce, is of my favorites and I have been dreaming of a day that I could see it made into art and accessible to a whole different group of people.

This story is about a young girl who wants to be a knight. Because there is only one other female knight, the training master has decided she needs to be admitted under a trial test, and after a year he may refuse her entry... because women are so soft and weaker than men. Ugh. So the story is about her time proving herself capable through her hard work in training, and her ability to make friends. There is a large portion of the story that has young readers questioning fairness/ right and wrong, and a large portion where Kel deals with bullies. A really fantastic story for young women chaffing at the ropes of gender conformity.

This specific rendition, the Graphic Novel version of First test, was beautifully illustrated. The dialogue is clear and descriptive, and it's easy to follow along. I think it's pretty clear what's going on and you get a solid grasp on the story. I think a lot happens in this book and it was incredibly complicated to slim it down. I do with there were some additional images to explain situations a little further, and a little more world building. But overall solid translation. I think the artist also designed the characters pretty close to how I imagined them, so that was a delightful bonus as well.

I grew up with Kel and graphic novels, so I was ecstatic when I heard First Test was getting a graphic novel adaptation.

I loved how the story was condensed to keep all the pivotal moments while still not losing much of the detail. That said, if I had not read the novel I likely would have been confused about why she was suddenly close enough to Roald to be giving him a gift since the friendship didn’t really develop on the page.

All that said I absolutely loved this and am so excited to add it to my shelves when it comes out this summer. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC. All thoughts are my own.

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 am an avid fan of Tamora Pierce and was not disappointed by this comic! It follows the story faithfully, and I am excited to see the rest of the series come to life in comic format. This rendition stays true to the kid fiction/solid ya genre of the original. It will fit nicely in the kids graphic novels section. I genuinely hope that this brings more readers into the Tortall universe!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for allowing me to review an eARC of this title.

Ask any of my book besties and they will tell you that I may have pterodactyl screeched when I found out that one of Tamora Pierce's Tortall series were being made into graphic novels. They will also tell you that the sound I made when I was given the opportunity to read an eARC of First Test could probably only be heard by dogs.

Growing up Alanna and Daine were two of the fictional characters I, for lack of a better phrase, looked up to. They were girls who weren't afraid to challenge the status quo and demand that they be given a place in the world. So when Tamora introduced us to Kel back in 1999 I eagerly, and without hesitation, dove right in.

Kel, much like Alanna and Daine, is a girl who is willing to stand up for what is right and to be the voice for those who she finds facing discrimination, bullying, or even potential death. For whatever reason, Kel's story is one I haven't revisited since the early 2000's, so reading the graphic novel was like coming home after being away - much of it was familiar, but a couple places still managed to surprise me.

I adore the artwork and the visualizations of some of my lifelong fictional idols, and not going to lie, I definitely did a little dance when I saw Numair on the page in full color.

The First Test graphic novel is a fantastic new take on what I consider a classic middle grade/YA, and I am excited to be able to introduce an entire new generation to Tamora Pierce.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Childrens for the eARC!

This is such a great way to introduce new readers to the world of Tortal. The art is great and it captures the feel of the prose books. It is always interesting to see other peoples interpretations of characters I have had in my head for over 20 years. Just read this. Really just read it, then go read everything Tamora Pierce has ever written.

Unlike many others that have reviewed this book, I have never read anything by Tamora Pierce. Even I am shocked about that, but the point is that this review is solely focused on this graphic novel and does NOT compare it to anything else by this author.

This version of First Test is a graphic novel adaptation of the novel by Tamora Pierce. It follows a girl named Keladry of Mindelan as she becomes the first girl to begin knighthood training in Tortall. She works through a variety of challenges and obstacles, many of which are instigated by her male peers. Through it all, she remains true to herself and her own goals and dreams. I think that this graphic novel series (I’m hoping the series will continue) will bring Tamora Pierce to a new generation of readers. The accessible graphic novel format and trendy modern cover will appeal to upper middle grade-YA readers, while the story itself will leave them wanting to know more about the characters and what happens next. I love the strength that Keladry displayed throughout the book and I can tell that her character will become even more amazing in future books. After reading this one, I’m even more inclined to read something else by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the opportunity to review an eARC of this title.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-arc of this book@
Though Kel was one of my lesser-loved TPverse heroes, it was still her series I found myself rereading the most in Tortall'verse. There's great amounts of slices of life that were not able to be worked into other series, and the daily life shines in Kel.
First Test is the shortest of the series, but still rich with explanations and world explanations, so that theoretically, someone could start out with Kel as a soft reboot. Kel is a very internally-based hero, who thinks far more than she says, who watches before reacting. I'm not quite sure what I expected from the graphic novel-- I think I believed there would be scene descriptors, and most of the text still written out for explanations? As it is, the only words are what characters say, and Kel turns to voicing out her thoughts more than she does in-book. Through that, much of what she thinks and most of the reactions of those around her are not parsed as easily as the book itself does. It is a shortened version of First Test though, with the meeting of Gower skipped, and the class with Tkaa as well, to name some of the edits. I also feel we did not fully get to see her fear of heights or why she has it?

I think too, that there were some... necessary, perhaps, updates? Daine is drawn as a full adult, and seems written as such, over a foot taller than Neal who has already stated himself to be fifteen. There seems to be a great age gap between them, rather than their book-status of around a year and a half. Too, was Wyldon's racism slightly downturned, with his insults towards Yamani culture, Yamani people, and therefore the xenophobia Kel faces. These are changes that certainly help bring the series more in what is published today,

Neal was drawn and portrayed excellently. Absolutely no notes. Kel's visual portrayal showed her as quiet, determined, and stubborn to a fault.
Minor qualms-- Raoul as a *redhead* (different than his descriptions of curly dark hair!) and Ilane as still a brunette. I'll definitely be recommending it still, but it is a tougher starting point than the book itself would be.

I think I'm too attached to the book to be able to be objective about this version. The art is absolutely stunning, but I thought the narrative was lacking. The dialogue felt clunky and didn't sound like it fit in the world. Again, my issues undoubtedly stem from how well I know this and other books in Pierce's Tortall Saga, but it really didn't read like it was part of that world. I also felt like there was a pacing issue.

I love Tamora Pierce and the Tortall world. First Test was my first introduction into Tortall and the universe of Tamora Pierce and this graphic novel is a welcome, wonderful addition to this world. Fantastic illustrations and a great story, would recommend to anyone and everyone.

Tamora Pierce is my favorite author. First Test was my first book I read of hers and I have since read it more times than I can count, which made me wonder if I would enjoy the graphic version. I did. This was a fantastic creation with keeping the story intact and the feeling of the characters while making it work as a graphic novel. The illustrations were wonderful and made the story come alive. Fantastic graphic novel I can't wait to hand sell this to people and share my love of Tamora Pierce.

Keladry is the first girl to attempt to become a knight in Tortall. She expects to be hazed and tested, but she didn't expect to be put on a probationary period. Kel has one year to prove she can succeed as a knight. Her peers don't seem to want her there, and she earns the nickname the Lump because she doesn't show her emotions. She eventually wins over some of the boys in the program, but can she win over the instructors and prove she deserves to be there?

I read all of the Tortall books when I was a kid, so I was excited to see the graphic novel adaptation of this series. It wasn't my favorite, but I think the visuals helped to make the adaptation more exciting.

I remember the Protector of the Small series was quite a bit longer than the Immortals and The Song of the Lioness series, so this was an extremely condensed version. Because of that, there were some things that may be confusing to readers who are unfamiliar with previously introduced characters like Daine, Numair, Alanna, etc. and plot points like who exactly Alanna is and why there are immortal creatures roaming around Tortall.

This made me feel very nostalgic and I'm excited to see more!

One of my favorite series by author, Tamora Pierce, so I am so happy to see it getting a graphic novel version. I'm hopeful this will happen will all her other series. Beautiful images that go along with the story well.

This is a hard review because I'm such a fan of the original book. I was disappointed with how brief and superficial it was compared to the original story. I understand that they were probably trying to keep it shorter for the middle grade audience; however, I think they could have kept more of the depth and left out some of the extra world building stuff. I'm interested to see how kids who haven't met Kel before feel about her story when they're introduced to her in this format.

I have loved Tamora Pierce since I was 10 years old. Getting to come back to the world of Tortall in graphic novel form was a true delight. I didn't LOVE the art, but it was impactful for the tone of the story. Hopefully this graphic novel will introduce a whole new generation of readers to Tortall!

This is a stellar adaptation of First Test! Although it's less clear who each of Kel's friends are in this version than the book but there's only so many pages and it's clear enough the point that's given during both versions of the book. Loved the art and getting to see characters I've loved for so long illustrated!

I loved reading this book when it first came out. As a graphic novel, it was very interesting to see how the characters played out together in pictures. I would love to see where else this story goes!

Seeing Keladry of Mindelan brought to life is exciting for me, as I have been a fan of all things Tortall since childhood! This full-color adaptation of Pierce's series doesn't disappoint, including the best parts of the novel for old and new fans to enjoy. My only disappointment was the rendering of Numair, who didn't seem to match what I knew of him. Now I want to re-read the entire series! Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for this eARC. All of the Tortall universe books are important to me, but First Test is the very first I read, so it has an extra special place in my heart. I enjoyed how the characters were portrayed, though I think I could have lived my whole life without seeing a visualization of a spidren... I wish it was a little bit longer, just to have a little more detail from the source, but I think it has almost all of the main beats of the story.

I do wish Roald joining Neal and Kel was a bit more detailed, as he kind of just appears on a page acting like he has a long friendship with Kel. Joren looks like the most spoiled and pompous kid, so kudos for accurately getting his personality across.

My only other complaint is that the Glossary and Cast of Characters seemed way too long since many of the things and people in them do not even make an appearance in this volume. I think it may help to only have the information relevant to this specific book and add the other pieces as it becomes relevant. I cannot wait to see my goodest boy Jump in future volumes!