My Thoughts: The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost

5 very good oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies!

Cover Love:

Meh.  I don't think it's particularly eye-catching but I do think boys will be fine carrying it around.

Why I Wanted to Read This:

My friend Shannon was reading this summer and raving about it on Twitter and GoodReads.  In fact, most everyone was raving about it on GoodReads.  I had the egalley and decided to get started right away.
Here's the synopsis from GoodReads:

Will West is careful to live life under the radar. At his parents' insistence, he's made sure to get mediocre grades and to stay in the middle of the pack on his cross-country team. Then Will slips up, accidentally scoring off the charts on a nationwide exam.

Now Will is being courted by an exclusive prep school . . . and is being followed by men driving black sedans. When Will suddenly loses his parents, he must flee to the school. There he begins to explore all that he's capable of--physical and mental feats that should be impossible--and learns that his abilities are connected to a struggle between titanic forces that has lasted for millennia.

Romance?:   A little bit, or the start of one, maybe two?

What I Liked:

So, I was in a reading slump.  I hadn't finished a book in about a week.  I was reading for something that swept me away, but was very daunted by the 500+ pages of The Paladin Prophecy.  I still thought I would give it a try.  Well, I read 100 pages the first night I started it and it felt like I had read 20.  It was so fast paced!

Mark Frost has worked a lot in entertainment and he knows how to hook a reader.  The action started on the second page and did not let up for the entire books.  Yes, there were spots where our main characters did research and figured stuff out, but overall, the pace just pounded!

I adored Will but wished we'd seen more pf his powers.  You just know that he has so much more under the surface and when he unleashes it everyone will be amazed.

The mythology behind what is going on with Will is pretty interesting.  These kids will have their hands full when the war really starts. But, I am sure there is someone (or a few someones) still out there who will betray Will.

Also, boarding school.  I LOVE boarding school books.  And once Will gets settled in The Center and gathers his group of friends he really opens up and becomes a stronger Will.

This is a fun, fantastic read the boys will love to read!

To Sum Up:  I wish I had found this book after the whole series was published because I want book 2 NOW.  I am buying this for my library and will be talking it up big this fall!

egalley received and requested from Random House via NetGalley.  Thanks!

(I also think that readers who enjoy I Am Number Four or The Gatekeepers series by Anthony Horowitz would love this book!)