Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Bibliographic Information: Paolini, Christopher. Eldest. Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 9780375826702
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Reading Level: Grades 5-12
Curriculum ties: Writing
Awards:Quill Book Awards (2005-2007): Young Adult/Teen, Soaring Eagle Book Award (Wyoming), WAYRBA – Western Australian Young Readers’ Book Awards : Older Readers.
Note: Book 2 in the Inherent Cycle series.

Reader’s Annotation:  Now a member of the the Ingeitum clan, follow Eragon as he trains to continue helping to save his empire.

Plot Summary: The story begins a few days after the first book, ERAGON, ends. Eragon and his dragon Saphira have helped the Varden and fellow allies the Dwarves drive off hostile forces sent by King Galbatorix to capture Saphira and destroy the Varden, but at a cost. The leader of the Varden was killed and Murtaugh, Eragons friend and ally was kidnapped. A new leader, Nasuada, is chosen for the Varden and she begins to rally further alliances and funding to continue the war effort against King Galbatorix. Believing Murtaugh is dead, Eragon decides to travel to the Elven city of Du Weldenvarden to continue his training as a Dragon Rider. There he meets Oromis and his dragon Glaedr who were Dragon Riders in hiding from Galbatorix. Oromis and Glaedr begin to train Eragon and Saphira and prepare them for their destined battle against Galbatorix. In a separate story line Roran , Eragons cousin, and the villagers of Carvahall go in pursuit of the bug like Ra’Zac to save Rorans fiancé, Katrina, who was taken hostage.  Roran and the villagers continue their search while at the same time attempt to locate the Varden to help their effort in defeating King Galbatorix.

Critical Evaluation: This is the second book of The Inheritance Cycle by the young author Christopher Paolini. It has similar undertones to The Empire Strikes Back movie, where Oromis is Yoda and Roran is Han Solo. Eragon and Saphira train while Roran continues his fight against Galbatorix. It also relates to The Lord of The Rings. The Dwarves and the Elves don’t care for each other but begrudgingly work together for the greater good. Despite the similarities to other books, it does have a sense of its own identity. It makes you feel for the characters. Eragon loses everything he has and must learn to cope, all the while training for a destiny he never expected to have. Roran must convince everyone in his village to follow him in search of his fiancé and the Varden, a feat even he believes is impossible. Saphira the dragon begins to learn about love, both the human and animal form and must differentiate between which one is greater. This book is more of a setup for next book in the cycle, Brisingr, which will introduce new characters and even more adventure and adversity for Eragon and Saphira.

Booktalking Ideas:
Discuss who Eragons parents may be. Why is his father’s identity a mystery?
Compare the relationship between Eragon and Arya from Eragon to Eldest.Why is Arya hesitent to show affection towards Eragon?
Why do you think Murtagh is able to use magic more effectively than Eragon?

Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Monsters, magic, violence.
Challenge defense ideas: Because many decisions in our society are made by the majority, protection of minority rights ensures that the ideas of smaller, less popular groups are not suppressed by the majority. In time, the majority may come to agree with these minority groups.

Why was this book included?: To continue Eragon’s journey in this saga. Fantasy fiction is a very popular genre among teens.

Author Information: Author Christopher Paolini not only writes about fantasy, he lives it. When he was a mere fifteen years old, he penned a sweeping epic called Eragon, which was eventually discovered by a New York publisher—and by thousands of readers. In 2003 the book nestled comfortably on bestseller lists, and by 2004 a movie based on the magnificent tale of a boy and a brilliant blue dragon was poised to take flight. Paolini was also hard at work writing the second and third installments in the Inheritance trilogy. In a teenreads.com interview, the author and boy wonder promised fans that future books would include the same “breathtaking locations, thrilling battles, and searching introspection as Eragon—in addition to true love.”
In 1984, when Christopher Paolini was born, his mother, Talita, quit her job as a Montessori preschool teacher to devote her time to raising her new son. Montessori is a system of learning developed by Italian educator Maria Montessori (1870–1952); some of its features include a focus on individual instruction and an early development of writing skills. Talita used the Montessori method to teach Christopher at home, and two years later when sister Angela came along, she, too, became part of the Paolini classroom. Since some of the materials in a Montessori school are expensive, Talita experimented and came up with creative alternatives to inspire and educate her children. She was so successful that by the time Christopher, and later Angela, turned three years old, they were both comfortably working at a first-grade level.
When Christopher was old enough to attend public school, his parents were worried that he would be bored by a traditional curriculum, so they thought long and hard and decided to educate him at home. In fact, focusing on their children was such a top priority that the Paolinis made a deliberate choice to live simply, drawing small salaries from Kenneth Paolini’s home-based publishing company. In interviews Paolini has talked about the nurturing environment his parents created for him, and he credits them for being his inspiration. He has also admitted that he was not always a receptive student. A particularly interesting note is that Paolini was a reluctant reader. When he was about three or four, he refused to learn to read, but his mother worked patiently with him until one day a door opened that would change his life.
“I enjoy fantasy because it allows me to visit lands that have never existed, to see things that never could exist, to experience daring adventures with interesting characters, and most importantly, to feel the sense of magic in the world.”
That door was his first visit to the library. In his essay titled “Dragon Tales,” Paolini described going to the library with his mother and being attracted to a series of mystery books with colorful spines. He took one home and, according to Paolini, something clicked. He was spellbound by the characters, the dialogue, and the fascinating situations. “From then on,” wrote Paolini, “I’ve been in love with the written word.” He went on to devour books of all kinds—classics, myths, thrillers, science fiction, anything that seemed interesting. In particular, he was drawn to the fantasy genre and to writers who wrote tales about heroes and elves, swordfights and quests and, especially, dragons.
(Author information obtained from Encyclopedia of World Biographies. Retrieved from: http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ow-Sh/Paolini-Christopher.html).