Emerging Emma Recommends... First Test by Tamora Pierce

So I'm going to try a new feature for my blog called Emerging Emma Recommends. Every month, I'll recommend a book. I'll tell you a little about the book and who it's suitable for. And I'll keep the book in my sidebar for the duration of the month. I don't have any books of my own to recommend (yet!) but this way, you'll still find good things to read when you stop by. Who knows, I might even recommend your book!

Today's recommendation is First Test by Tamora Pierce.

First Test is the first book in the Protector of the Small quartet. If you've spent time on my blog in the past, you've almost certainly heard me raving about Tamora Pierce. All of her series are excellent, but I just finished re-reading Protector of the Small, and I wanted to rave about it in particular.

Full disclosure: this is a book geared towards young readers. But then again, so was the Harry Potter series. Tamora Pierce is one of those authors who, simply put, can tell a good tale. Even if you're not a huge reader of fantasy, this book will interest you. There are some fantasy elements to the story, but it's really more about adventure than magic.

In First Test, Keladry decides that she wants to be knight. Luckily for her, Alanna (heroine of the Song of the Lioness quartet) came before her and broke the ban on female knights. Unluckily for her, there are more than a few people in power opposed to the idea. However, Keladry has already had years more of training than her fellow pages. She's tough, she's talented, and she's determined to prove to everyone that a woman can make just as good of a knight as a man.

This book has it all - battles, friendships, feuds, struggles against seemingly impossible odds, and even a dash of romance. Recommended for anyone who wants to escape from the daily grind into a world where anything is possible for a person with spirit and will.