Just Right

I am a lover of epic fantasies. The big, thick volumes with the crinkled edges-usually part of a series (at least 3 books).  These are books that create a whole new world, one that you get lost in-when you stop reading it takes you a second to remember where you are and what day it is. But these kind of fantasies can be difficult for younger students-especially those who struggle with reading.  The length alone stops many students from even picking up the books.

Another problem is the cast of characters.  For an experienced reader having an enormous amount of characters helps create the depth and richness of the story, but even for me it can get confusing, especially since many characters have similar sounding names (looking at you Game of Thrones). On the opposite end some children's fantasies are too simple.  There's not enough of a story, not enough characters, not enough depth.

Just right is Christopher Paolini's Eragon.  Eragon is just a regular boy living with his uncle (his parents are very mysterious-always a good sign in fantasy), until he finds a mysterious stone in the woods.  Well this is a fantasy, so of course the stone isn't just a stone-it's a dragon egg.  The dragon, named Saphira, hatches for Eragon (which we later learn is a pretty big deal-dragons choose who they hatch for so Eragon must be something special).  Well life can't be normal when you have a dragon so Eragon embarks on a quest to determine his true destiny.

Along the way Eragon meets all kinds of characters (elves, dwarfs, and other humans), enough to show you the depth of the world Paolini has created, but the cast is kept manageable enough, and the names are unique enough, that you can remember who everyone is without having to look back.

Just a heads up, you don't find any answers at the end of Eragon (in fact you'll only find more questions), because this is part of a series.  I will definitely be reading books two and three over winter break.  These are perfect cold weather, read all day by the fire kind of books.

Finding yourself...that's kids stuff.