A Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Young adult · ages 10–18 · grades 5–12 · 820L · 1978
Why we'd hand it over
Le Guin's prose is spellbinding and the architecture of Ged's journey — from arrogance to humility — has aged better than any fantasy written in 1968; an 11-year-old ready for literary challenge will close this book changed.