The Ranger's Apprentice

     The book series, the Ranger's Apprentice, is a good adventure story that young adults would enjoy reading. The main character, Will, possesses some outstanding traits that make the book worth reading.

    The basic storyline is about a group of specially trained combat masters called ranger who must keep the kingdom of Araluen and the surrounding provinces safe from invasions from hostile forces. A large part of this was recorded in the second book of the series in which Will, his friend Horace and another ranger named Gilan, must stop the Wargals from communicating with the Skandians, and from invading Araluen. They did this by trying to burn the bridge that the Wargals were going to use to invade Araluen. This attempt failed miserably and Will and Evanlyn were captured by the Skandians and taken to Skandia, the others escaped and defeated the Wargal army. In the next book,  Will's mentor Halt embarks on a rescue mission with Horace to go and rescue Will from the hands of the Skandians. In the meanwhile, Will and Evanlyn escaped with the help of the same man that captured them who saw that what he did was wrong. They eventually met up with Halt and Horace, only to find that Skandia was about to be invaded by the Temu' jai army. They resolved to make a treaty with the Skandians and try to defeat the enemy. They succeed in the end, saving both Skandia and Araluen.

     Some of Wills traits are self confidence; eagerness to become better at what he does, and a good sense of humor. Will is self confident. In fights and battles, Will sometimes has to surprise his enemy with his archery skills. He is very confident that he will hit the target wherever he is aiming for. His sureness is because of the hours and hours of practice that his mentor, Halt, put him through. Will is always eager to become better at what he does.  Whether it requires practice, or getting advice from his elders, he strives to excell at his Ranger training. When Will has to make a decision, he often remembers the advice and words of Halt. Will has a good sense of humor. He and his friend Horace are always joking around. When he was working as a musician in Macindaw, people often insulted him and Will decided not to take it personally. He would turn the remark around and make it funny. All in all, Will has some useful traits of character.

    The story of Will is set in the realm of Araluen. This adventure takes place in medieval times. During this time period, almost everyone is superstitious. This comes in handy when Will and Horace need to get inside Castle Macindaw and take control until support can come and help them. So, to create a diversion they have a healer, who everyone thinks is a wizard, use things like fireworks to get the enemy's attention while Will and Horace get into the castle and take control. The superstitious people thought the fireworks were demons coming to kill them. They did not realize they were being attacked. I really liked the time period and setting of the books.

I enjoyed this story. The plot was intriguing, Will had outstanding character traits, and the setting was exciting. I recommend this book to young adults. It was amazing.