William Park, 2016 Level 1, Second Place

Dear John Flanagan,

A long time ago, when I was a young naive boy, I read a book. A book called Rangers Apprentice. As I opened up the book, I read one simple phrase: The Epic Battle has Begun… Those 5 grand words on the cover of Rangers Apprentice have changed my life forever. They opened my eyes into a new world of fantasy and heroic adventures of knights and warriors. They have made me into the Sunrise Warrior, a Courier captured in a castle, a Skandian raiding a village, an Arrldi soldier in a fierce sandstorm, a Senshi warrior battling the traitors, but above all else, I have become a Ranger.

Rangers need to be brave and must be able to think quickly and effectively. I gained these traits as I read your book and it showed when I had to face my expert friend in a game of paintball. As the countdown of the game began, I gave myself short pep talk “Be a Ranger”. So I simply did. I quietly crawled around the barriers and I glided through the shadow as the sun was beginning to set. I used all my senses and another one I gained from reading Ruins of Gorlan: Instinct. I heard my friend’s rough breath behind a short barrier over my left shoulder. I took a couple shots at him and then he reciprocated back. I heard Halt’s voice in my head at that time “In times of war you need to take risks. Then at the end, we’ll see whether they were a good choice or not.” I decided to take a major risk. I took a fast shot at him drawing him out from hiding and I quickly slipped over a small barrier and bounced on a small ground barrier while my friend was momentarily occupied. I found myself right behind my friend’s exposed back. With a smile I said slyly, “Good Game” and I released a barrage of paintballs on him. I won the game using Ranger skills that I learned from Rangers Apprentice.

Rangers Apprentice isn’t just a simple book to me. It’s a creation of wonder, of beauty and design. The book taught me how to trust myself and my natural instincts. In The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, Will is able to deflect an arrow aimed straight for the Emperor Shigeru with a flick of his bow; a purely instinctive action. He then proceeds to shoot down the archer with his own arrow all in a matter of seconds. This shows how when our evolved thinking is stripped away, we become creature of pure instinct. Our gut feeling is what makes us human and differentiates us from simple animals like Tug and Abelard. Despite how disciplined and skilled they are, they cannot be as instinctive as humans.

Another thing stressed in your book is point of view. Points of view are what can be the difference between a good shot and a perfect shot. In life there will always be hardships. What you do when they appear depends on your point of view. You can either cower away and become a miserable person like Will when he became addicted to tireweed in The Icebound Land or you can step up to the challenge and face it head on despite all odds like in The Siege of Macindaw. You can miss the target if your point of view doesn’t face the correct direction. You need to set your eyes straight on the bullseye and you need to become one with the bow; you need the same point of view.

Your books have always been an inspiration and a guiding point for me. They have forged me into who I am today. I remember particular Sunday evening. I was reading The Royal Ranger. I had been reading it for the last day and I had reached the point in which I saw the dreaded back cover. I took a moment then to think about all the adventures those I2 books had given me. I thought of how Will’s life of bravery and courage changed me for the better and how he persisted through all the hardships in his life. Now as I conclude my message to you, I have only have one more thing to say. Thank you for writing Rangers Apprentice.

Sincerely,

William Park