There’s only a few more days to shop before Christmas, and you’re searching madly for the right gift to buy. The Nintendo Wii is sold out everywhere. Anyway, you’re middle schooler has enough games anyway. Who needs to give a gift that will only make you spend more money on games later on? So you ask yourself, “What can I get that won’t rot my child’s mind?”
Well look no further. “Ranger’s Apprentice : The Ruins of Gorlan” by John Flanagan is the Buzzfocus.com middle schooler recommended book for Holiday. Well, really this book is suitable for anyone who is a lover of fantasy: middle school, high school, college or otherwise. Now, you’re probably wondering, “Shouldn’t Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows be the Holiday book to buy?” No, it’s not. Why? Because most Harry Potter fans finished book 7 within the first week to month after the series finale was released.
“The Ruins of Gorlan” is the story of fifteen-year old Will, an orphan who dreams of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a great knight. The only problem is Will wasn’t born with the right physique to make it in the King’s Battle School. But another school takes interest in the young boy. A mysterious Ranger named Halt apprentices the slight Will into the esoteric school of the Ranger. Will struggles with his desire to be a knight and learning from his new master.
But this is more than a tale of boy learning a trade. The threat of Morgarath, exiled Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, looms over the story.
The story is a quick read at 272 pages. Flanagan creates strong dynamic characters that you immediately love. The fast paced writing style keeps you involved in the story from beginning to end. Flanagan initiates a painting of the land of Araluen which he expands on throughout the other books in the series.
This is the first story in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. Book 2 “The Burning Bridge” and book 3 “The Icebound Land” are also out. Book 4 “The Battle for Skandia” comes out March 2008.
Buzzfocus.com rates “Ranger’s Apprentice : The Ruins of Gorlan” by John Flanagan with a 4.5/5.
