Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Summary:

     Will is an orphan who lives with the other orphans in his town. Every year, the master tradesmen come to the castle to pick an apprentice from the orphans who have come of age. Will would like to be a knight of the realm, but has few hopes of being chosen because he is much too small. Everyone is shocked when Will is chosen by the ranger for his curiosity and stealth.
     Will spends many days learning the ranger trade. He learns to scout, track, throw a knife, and gather intelligence through stealth. Will rarely sees the other orphans from the castle, but does run into his sometimes friend, Horace who is at battle school. Horace is struggling with battle school. His social issues hide the fact that he is a gifted swordsman who is highly regarded by his teachers.
     The two boy's join forces when war seems to be on the horizon and the kingdom must be defended. Grand adventure ensues.

Personal Reaction:

     Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan is an excellent read. Typical of many books for teenagers, Will has no parents. This frees him up to become involved in many dangerous situations. The pace of the novel is fast, keeping the reader interested. In addition, the relationships among the orphans is very realistic, particularly that of Horace and Will. The boys start out as enemies but end up as friends, something more atypical of many books for teenagers. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy never became best friends, after all. This book would tend to appeal to boys, but girls might also enjoy, after all, there are hints at a love story later in the series.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Summary:

     Auggie is an ordinary kid, or as ordinary as a kid with a severe facial deformity can possibly be. He has been home schooled most of his life, but his parents want him to go to private school for the fifth grade. Auggie is terrified, and rightly so, he faces a very long year trying to adjust to his peers, and they to him.
     At first, Auggie makes a couple of friends, Summer and Jack. Summer is able to look beneath the surface and really get to know Auggie as a person. Jack hurts Auggie's feelings terribly by talking bad about Auggie behind his back. The boys finally reconcile and become inseparable.
     Auggie also makes a very bad enemy, Julian. Julian is rich, smart, and has pulled the wool over the eyes of the adults. Both the faculty and Julian's parents think he is a really nice boy. He isn't. Julian bullies Auggie throughout the entire year even inciting other classmates to gang up against Auggie and Jack to the point that Jack ends up hitting Julian and getting suspended.
     Auggie and Jack end up sorting things out with the rest of the boys in class when they get picked on by some older kids from another school. The other boys in the class come to Auggie and Jack's rescue in the nick of time.
   Auggie ends up the year getting an award for bravery at the end of the school year, which he feels is a little dubious.

Personal Reaction:

     Auggie's story is told from several different perspectives including Auggie's, Jacks, Summer's, and even Auggie's sister, Via's. This is a very effective way to help readers relate to different points of view. Some of the more distant points of view are the most interesting, for example Via's ex best friend who pretends that Auggie is her little brother, and Via's boyfriend who ends up threatening Julian on Jack's behalf. These characters make the story more real and relatable.
     Wonder is an amazing book about courage, friendship, loyalty, and being human. I would recommend it to any reader and am planning on gifting it to several friends and family.