The Rangers
Apprentice
John Flanagan

The Rangers Apprentice is a fun, pretty easy read that is a good time-passer. I thought this was an okay book but it was definitely not my favorite book I've ever read. This is a fictional book that takes place in medieval times and follows two to three characters.

This story takes place in Redmont, a medieval town ruled by a Baron or leader. The city is a safe place for families to live thanks to the protection of guards. However, for those few individuals who don't have families and have been orphaned, there is a special place in the castle of Redmont where the Baron Arnold looks after them. One of these orphans name is Will. Will was left on the Barons door step with a note attached that read, "His mother died in childbirth. His father died a hero. Please care for him. His name is Will." Will has been pitied all of his life for two reasons: One, he is an orphan...Two he is very small.

Now, everyone in the city has a job, they farm, write, train as soldiers or work in other professions. Each child reaches the age where they must participate in the choosing day. This is where they find out what castle worker they will apprentice and what their future profession will be. Choosing day is coming up this year and Will's generation is to participate. Because Will's father died fighting in the Redmont military, now Will's dream is to become a soldier. However his talents lie in different areas. Will is quick, he is quiet, he is witty and he is a very agile. Because of this Will is drafted or chosen to be the apprentice of the town Ranger.

Rangers are known for being sneaky, dark and almost scary figures to the towns people. Rangers always wear hooded cloaks and can often move and hide without being seen. Many think they have dark magic, but as Will will learn it is just a certain skill set that makes a Ranger so mysterious. Now faced with the challenge of working with and learning the secrets of the Rangers, Will will also have to endure many hardships and face quests that may determine the survival of his people.

The Rangers Apprentice is a very interesting but far fetched book that brings up many interesting points. I feel the biggest lesson to be learned is the lesson that teaches, everyone has a place in life and everyone can do great things. It doesn't matter where you come from or what you have done before, everyone can succeed. Just like Will has a bad past and overlooks it to work hard and survive, everyone can always change and become greatness.

The Rangers Apprentice was a fair book. It was slower at the beginning just because of all the background it has to give but the pace picks up as the book goes on. There was some swearing but not a ton. I liked this book and I like the setting so I think I will read the next book and see if the series gets better. This is the first book of the series and I feel a great start to a series. I like this book and it deserves an A-