Eragon , The Inheritance Series, by Christopher Paolini

One of my favorite fantasy series ever penned! Really, really terrific, especially if you like fantasy stories. This series was written by a young man. He was in his early teens when he began writing the first book, Eragon, and by the time he was 19 he was a New York Times Bestselling author. Three books have been published in the series, and I gobbled them up like Ms. PacMan in her prime. These books are smart. But, they are a bit violent, and sometimes a bit gory- think destruction of bad ogres, but in a "written by a 17 year old geek" kind of way. Young Mr. Paolini has followed the old adage, and written about what he knows. And this kid has a ACTIVE imagination. He knows a LOT about Dragons. He knows about magic, and pride, and trust and cooperation, and bad guys. He does not know about courtship and dating and marriage and sex. He doesn't write about what he doesn't know. This is a good thing when it comes to finding great books for kids. Not that it is a "kid's book". Like The Christmas Song: Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire...this is a book for kids from one to ninety-two. Well, perhaps one is a little ambitious. I still recommend Goodnight Moon for this crowd, or a rousing oration of Ferdinand The Bull.
In Eragon a 15 year old boy finds a dragon egg, then joins the anti-government underground movement, then fights the battle of Farthen-dur, killing a shade (evil sorcerer).... this is the synopsis of the first book, as told by my 12 year old, who has read this book approximately 7 times. I have to point out that in the book, there is a wonderful relationship built between the boy and his dragon, and alliances with strong characters and it is actually quite a long book. Certainly, you can't just read one, you'll have to trip back to the library for a copy of Eldest, then Brisingr, then, like my kids, wait painfully for the next, perhaps last, installment of the Inheritance series!