Today marks the release of Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. It's the fourth and final novel in Paolini's young adult fantasy series, which began in 2003 with the blockbuster book Eragon.
Even if you're not a fan of fantasy books -- or young adult novels in general, for that matter -- you've probably heard about Paolini, who garnered national attention for being fifteen years old when he started writing the book Eragon. Home-schooled (and finishing his high school courses at age 15), Paolini wrote Eragon and then had the book published by Paolini International, his parents' publishing company. To promote Eragon, he toured dozens of schools and libraries, talking to audiences about writing -- and about his book.
While people were reading Eragon, the book would probably not have seen the popularity that it did had the stepson of author Carl Hiaasen not picked up a copy from a Montana bookstore (where Paolini lives). Hiaasen's stepson read the book and loved it, prompting Hiaasen to bring the book to the attention of a major publishing house, Alfred A. Knopf. Knopf promptly published the book the following year, and Eragon would go on to become a national best seller, bringing on three more books (Eldest and Brisingr, as well as Inheritance) and even a film adaptation.
Some praise the Inheritance series as an epic tale by an author whose talent belies his years. Others say the series relies too heavily on plot points seemingly derived from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. But regardless of opinion, there's no denying the accomplishment of a best-selling teenage author -- though, surprisingly enough, Paolini was hardly the first.
The Young Visiters: or, Mr. Salteena's Plan by Daisy Ashford.
That misspelled title is not a typo. It is, instead, the work of Ashford, who wrote her amusing classic about life for the upper crust in nineteenth century England ... when she was just nine years old. The book was originally published with a forward by J.M. Barrie, and was enjoyed as such a satiric work of wit that many accused Barrie of having written it himself. Daisy Ashford was a real person, however, and she really did write this novella on her own -- along with several other works, before retiring from writing in her teens.
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Atwater-Rhodes was only fourteen when she published her first novel, and as since gone on to publish a book every year. She was writing about teens and vampires five years before the first Twilight book was released, and is known for her independent main characters and the strong fantasy elements in her novels.
Gordon Korman
I've been a fan of Korman -- and of Jeremy Bloom, Korman's middle-school poet character -- for years. What I didn't know is that Korman completed his first book at the age of 12, as part of an English assignment, and was published when he was 15. I wonder now if Ms. Terranova, the put-upon English teacher of The D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom, might not be based on the real-life teacher who apparently helped inspire Korman to become an author.
Zlata's Diary, by Zlata Filipovic.
Everyone knows Anne Frank, a teenage girl who kept a diary of her experiences in Amsterdam during the Holocaust, hiding with her family from the Nazi occupation. While Zlata Filipovic's story has a far happier ending than that of Anne Frank's, Filipovic has been called "the Anne Frank of Sarajevo," as she used her diary to record her experiences living in wartorn Sarajevo. Her diary is a fascinating, heartbreaking look into the life of an average teenager trying to live as normal a life as she can in a world torn apart by war.
Don't Get Perconel With a Chicken by H. Allen Smith.
Not all young writers' work ends up on the best-seller list. Still, you should check out this hilarious collection of poems, short stories, letters, and vignettes, all written by kids and teens. (Be sure to check out the limerick summing up the entire myth and legend of King Arthur.)
-- Post by Ms. B
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