May 8, 2025 2:56 pm
First Test, by Tamora Pierce, was published in 1999. It’s an excellent middle grade fantasy story grounded in one girl’s struggle against gender discrimination, hazing, and abuse while she pursues her dream of knighthood. First Test takes place in Tortall, the same story world as Tamora Pierce’s series about Alanna the Lioness. Where Alanna sought and (spoilers for that series) achieved knighthood while hiding that she was a girl, our protagonist Keladry seeks to follow openly in Alanna’s footsteps. But while that path is now officially open to a girl, reality hasn’t yet caught up. If you want a middle grade story about a young girl facing adversity and misogyny in a hostile school environment, this is a solid option.
First Test is, first and foremost, a story about a young girl and her struggles. Young Henry probably would have loved it… but he probably wouldn’t have read it (I mean, I didn’t read it, but I also wouldn’t have). Even if it had caught my interest, being mocked by my peers for reading ”a girl’s book” was a real and pressing concern. That was a big part of why I missed the Alanna books when I was young.
Oddly, that social pressure also feels connected to First Test’s message.
Social pressure around gender expectations is what this book is all about. And it’s funny that young Henry wouldn’t have read this book, because while First Test is written for girls (inasmuch as having a female POV character means that), it is full of boys. Tamora Pierce does an excellent job (as usual) with her well-written male supporting characters. They’re present on both sides of the story’s central conflict. Some of them are Kel’s obstinate foes, some are her easy allies, and others have their perspectives shifted by our protagonist over the course of the book as Kel sets herself against the (accurately depicted) hazing so central to the traditions of the school she’s attending. Kel has her work cut out for her, and refuses to be complacent or accept defeat. Thus, while this is a story about one girl’s dream to reach beyond the expectations that others have for her or impose on her, First Test is also about fighting for larger cultural shifts.
I think it’s no coincidence that the cultural shifts in the book (fighting hazing, pushing for gender equality in more walks of life) mirrored cultural shifts occurring in the real world when it was written. First Test offered a well-written and fun adventure story for girls, one that encouraged them to see futures for themselves that had up to that point been socially coded as male-only. I think, based on what I’ve heard from younger people and the books I’ve read, that in many ways the cultural shifts so central to First Test have (for the most part) resolved in ways that Keladry would appreciate.
But I haven’t yet found adventure stories written for boys that feel like they make either of the complementary, supporting arguments. First, that boys could pursue previously female-coded futures. Second, that it was okay for boys, no matter what futures they dreamt of, to enjoy and welcome stories like First Test.
We need those stories. After all, it’s one thing to have stories for girls that challenge stodgy old cultural narratives, but why stop there? If you really want that cultural change you need to influence everybody, not just the people who will bear the brunt of the work of pushing for their own lives, their own choices.
I’ve read several books that feel like they are part of the solution. I think Rick Riordan has done well with this, as have books from his imprint (Tristan Strong Punches A Hole In The Sky has its heart in the right place). But I think we need more. We need less-constrained visions of what boys can want and do, and what men can be. And we need those visions to welcome the empowerment of others.
I have more thoughts here, but I also have a baby. Hopefully I’ve managed to make some coherent sense despite the sleep deprivation and lack of time. Maybe I’ll catch you with more thoughts next time.
Posted by Henry
Categories: Books, Books for Kids
Tags: abuse, Adventure, Alanna the Lioness, book review, Books, Books for Kids, fantasy, fiction, First Test, gender, gender equality, gender expectiations, hazing, Keladry, Kwame Mbalia, MG, Middle Grade, reading, Rick Riordan, school, social pressure, Tamora Pierce
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