The Novice (Summoner Book 1), by Taran Matharu

Another OBOB book for this season, and getting really good reviews from students! A fantasy story which reminded me a lot of The Ranger's Apprentice...only not quite as strong. I really enjoyed the author's notes at the end of the story, describing his journey into writing and publishing and the creation of this book. If I remember correctly, The Novice started as an online story and then became a published book. Matharu began writing this when he was a teenager, ala Christopher Paolini, and this book reminded me also of Eragon. Now for a bit of a disclaimer...I tried reading Eragon three different times, and with no success. I just couldn't get into the flow of the writing. The Novice was the same way. I started, and then I stopped. I started again, and then stopped for about a week. Then I picked up where I left off, determined to get through it all, since so many kids have enjoyed it. But it just left me wanting more...honestly, wanting to re-read something better written. It's not a bad story, overall, but little things along the way hinted at the newness of Matharu as a writer, and these little things bothered me, added up, and...well, I can only offer this 3 paws.  I would give it 2 paws but I think you may like it more than I did, and so the extra paw is to encourage you to give it a try. Me? I'm moving on to something else...maybe some Stephanie Meyer?