Ranger’s Apprentice (Book 3) The Icebound Land by John Flanagan

Rating: Needs Parent Supervision age 15+

Reading Level: Middle School

A 13-year-old ranger and an undercover princess are sold into slavery in a dangerous and cold country. Some issues in this book (e.g., prostitution, addiction) bump it up to high school age for me.

Possible Concerns (Spoiler Alert!):

• Addiction. In a desperate moment of extreme cold, a boy gives in to an offer for drugs that dull the chill. He becomes addicted and becomes a shell of himself, much like a zombie.
• Slavery. Terrible conditions: cold, inhumane, gang driven. The conditions drive the boy to drugs.
• Prostitutes. Although never explicitly using the word “prostitute”, women in short skirts, clearly prostitutes, beckoning to a young naive knight… The oblivious young knight asks his mentor why their skirts are so short. The mentor lies and says they’re messengers who run fast. The boy notices their shapely legs. The mentor is surprised the boy falls for his joke.
• Harsh cruelty. People who disobey or displease a tyrant are locked in outdoor hanging cages, left to die.
• Peril. Sword fights, slave labor, attempted escape, violent punishments (flogging, punches).
• Use (once each) of the terms, “damn,” “corner of hell,” and “Oh God.”
• Pagan Gods. A ruler takes an oath of vengeance in the name of three gods of vengeance in a Nordic religion

Things I liked:

• Hope. Even while enslaved the boy and girl encourage each other and cling to hope.
• Patience. Two captives cleverly and patiently wait for their way out.
• Self-sacrifice. In several instances, characters display self-sacrifice to serve others.
• Outwitting a tyrant. It is very satisfying.

Definitely read the books in order. Here are links to my reviews of Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4, Book 5, Book 6, Book 7, and Book 8.