Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

I know that the Ranger's Apprentice Series could be considered an easy read, but, frankly, I do not care. The story begins in the book Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan and is a very good read. The story of Will, a boy who has grown up in the Ward at Redmont Castle, in the sovreign kingdom of Araluen, with no knowledge of who his parents are. Alone and bullied by Horace, a boy twice his size, Will takes refuge in his natural climbing abilites and the knowledge that no one ever looks up.

Nervous, unlike his wardmates, about the coming Choosing Day, a day when the craftsmasters would consider the wards for their own apprentices and decide their futures. If a ward is not chosen, he is sent to work on one of the farms that supplies the fiefdom with it's grown produce. After his wardmates are chosen, Will is considered but no one, except the quiet and forbidding Halt, the Ranger, is willing to accept the small boy as their apprentice. From that day forward, Will is a Ranger's apprentice.

The Rangers were a mysterious group shrouded in obscurity, leading the common people to believe that they were sorcerors who practiced black magic. The skills required to be a Ranger, stealth, silence, and, most of all, the ability to strategize on the spot, make the Rangers a group feared by the commoners and enemies of the crown alike. Will has been thrust into this world and already the people of the town see him as someone to be respected, for fear of what he would do to them. The training he goes through is grueling, but he makes it out okay. By the end of the book, he is well on his way to becoming a great Ranger.

Will's struggles could be connected to anyone's difficulties in this modern world. His denial into the other crafts that were available to him was based on his height and stature; he has always been rather small for his age. However, his abilities more than make up for his lack of height and parentage, but only Halt is able to recognize that. Being accepted into the Rangers will give Will the opportunities that he would never have had access to if he had not become Halt's apprentice. This act of determination and trust in his own abilities gives Will the strength he needs to survive his harsh training and learn the trade which he will come to adore in time.