Rating: 
Summary: too violent for my taste
Review: To the last reviewer: didn't you notice that Neal fell for Yuki? Anyway, I wanted to say that I have enjoyed all the books I've read from Alanna to Daine and now to Keladry. But, has anybody else observed that the first book in each quartet is very mild and as they progress toward the last, all the characters begin having sex and the violence picks up tremendously. No doubt folks will think I'm just a prude and that I shouldn't read the books if they contain things I don't like, but I just wonder what the children these books are supposedly written for think about these issues. "Squire" makes much of the violence and brutality Kel must witness. And, it gives an ominous foreshadowing to events in the last book--dead children being turned into hideous monsters. I will not be at all surprised to discover that Ms. Pierce will kill off some of her major characters (perhaps even Kel herself) as well as regale us with graphic descriptions of brutality and torture. This seems to be the trend in juvenile fiction today: violence and killing is okay if it's committed by the "good" guys, sex is fine--just get yourself an anti-pregnancy charm, and believing that homosexuality is wrong means you're an antiquated, ignorant fool. Ms. Pierce preaches these beliefs the same as any author of adult literature, but she does it to children under the guise of "safe" juvenile fiction.
Rating:
Summary: disapointing and under developed
Review: it's not that i didn't like this book. i really couldn't put it down, if only so i would know what happened. however, i feel that a lot of characters, ideas, and events in this book are just kind of there and not really full, and perhaps could be written better. for example, something big might happen, and then thats it for that, and the book moves on to something else. characters come and go, and that's all. it is UNDER DEVELOPED. also, there didn't seem to be much character growth, kel just didn't change enough. she is pretty much the same as she was at 10, and that is NOT normal. people change the most in their teen years, and kel hardly changed at all. 308 pages full of different events was NOT enough to represent all of kel's squire years. the years came and went with little developement in characters. the thing with cleon, that didn't surprise me since i saw it coming from the second book. from some odd reason, i found myself discusted with their relationship. it seemed very cut and dried, along with the rest of the book, in a way that was not present in the Song of the Lioness quartet. that surprised and disappointed me. i've loved all of tamora pierce's books untill the protector of the small series, even though i liked the first two, but now i think that pierce has...lost some of her touch. it also seems to me that she is writing these new books to fit the format of the quartet, instead of writing them as they might be better suited, as more books that go more in-depth and better develope the story.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS GREAT!
Review: To the reader's inquring minds, this is a mindful! Alnong with all of Tamora Pierce's books, i haven't seen better work to date. This book goes through the harships to the great things that go on for a young squire and is filled with comedy. Quiet a bit of romance is invloved in here and if you have read thr other two books in thr 'Protecter of the small' series, a big surpirse is realved. If your pondering on buying this book and have never read her work, i suggest you read The song of the Loiness first, to get you aquanted with whats happening.
Rating: 
Summary: Pierce Completes her Literary Sell Out
Review: ... The only true fantasy in this fantasy book is wishy-washy approach to life the characters exhibit. If you want preaching against premarital sex and 16 year olds exchanging chaste pecks, then this is the book for you. If you want honesty and a refreshing, original look at the confusion and joy of becoming a woman and dealing with gender binding issues then read any of the Song of the Lioness Quartet. ... these four books are the pinnacle of her career. .... Squire is watered down ...
Rating: 
Summary: animemojo
Review: I loved the book...I read the entire day for ten hours! I loved the story also! I must tell you though that kel's feeling for neal go away and go for someone else. his name starts with a CL and ends with an EON. it's so adorable but I didn't like the ending though cuz cleon wasn't there. kel inspired me to believe in what's right and have courage and that anything is possible. It's a truly inspiring book. you should really get it.I can't wait till the next book...too bad it comes out in 2002. I don't know if I can wait!
Rating:
Summary: Squire (Protector of the Small)
Review: Squire is definitely Tamora Pierce's greatest literary achievement yet. It combines subjects such as love, combat, courage, and defying stereotypes as heroin Kel finds herself while fighting some of the most evil forces in Tortall. Even better than the Song of the Lioness quartet, Squire will keep you begging for more.
Rating:
Summary: This one was difficult to put down.
Review: Although I do agree that this book lacked Kel's previously determined personality traits, and that her relationship with Cleon was rather startling... I have to say that it was an incredible book by far.Tamora Pierce avoided the looming cliche of a romance between Neal and Kel. However, her attraction to Dom is rather puzzling... both to the reader and apparently to Keledry as she discovers her fickleness. I think that many people were surprised by Kel's discovery of her wandering heart because Kel never really wanted to explore that aspect in the first two books, her goal was to become a Squire and be as good if not better than the boys... thus winning Lord Wyldon's approval. Frankly, if I had to go through that, romance would be the last thing on my mind and once my goal had been accomplished I too might find that my heart wandered as fitfully as Kel's does in "Squire". Kel's dealings with her new experiences were interesting and made me smile more than a couple of times when I was reading it. Perhaps not Tamora Pierce's "best yet", but it was still quite good as far as most fantasy books go. I didn't find it jumped too far forward... recall in her first series The Lioness Quartet Alanna had become a full knight by the end of the second book! So a hearty huzzah to Tamora Pierce and hopes for more quartets in the future!
Rating:
Summary: Great, even without Neal
Review: A lot of reviewers seem to be really upset that Kel and Neal do not hook up, and that in fact, it is Kel and Cleon who become a couple. People seem to be really surprised by Kel and Cleon, when, in fact, this has been hinted at since the second book. Think back to Page. Remember how much emphasis Tamora Pierce put on the way Cleon "jokingly" flirted? I rather expected that Kel would get over Neal and get with Cleon, and I was sort of surprised that so many other people didn't notice. The problems with her and Neal are that they are best friends and that Neal has never shown any interest. A big problem in books and T.V.is that too often platonic love becomes something else, and I think Tamora Pierce has always done a good job showing how people can be best friends and become lovers, with Alanna/Jon, Alanna/George, and Daine/Numair. This time I think it's great the her best friends remain best friends. Also, Neal never showed any interest in Kel. Also, I think it was very realistic, the way Kel sort of lost touch with her friend while she was a Squire. It wouldn't have made any sense if she were coincedentally running into Neal all of the time while on the road, and Lalasa had been planning to get her shop as soon as Kel didn't need her any more. The story had to travel with Kel, and that meant leaving some people behind. I think that some of the new characters we could have gotten to know better, but I didn't really see a problem with it otherwise. The book was great, but seemed to move along very very quickly. Before you know it, she's eighteen! Four years is a lot to stuff into three hundred or so pages, so even though the book is pretty long, it reads quickly, and sometimes you wish there was more time for you to get to know people.
Rating:
Summary: Must read!
Review: You have to read this bok and all of the others! Tamora Piercs is one of the best authors ever! all of her books are wonderfuL!
Rating:
Summary: Very good, However....
Review: Very good book in many ways...enjoyable, and well written. However, Tamora Pierce seems to be hung up on the idea of dumping a guy in the middle of a series...remember Alanna and Jonathan? (a more extreme case) Now it's Keladry and Neal. Is this realism, or is it a personal author hang-up?
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