I have always considered Gary Paulsen to be one of the best children's authors in the country. The Transall Saga only enhanced my admiration of Paulsen. Again he has managed to craft a story that will hold its readers until the last page is turned.

In The Transall Saga, we see in the main character an image of Paulsen himself. Mark Harrison is a thirteen-year-old boy who enjoys solitude, nature, and solitude in nature. This is an accurate description of Paulsen, explaining why so many of his stories' characters are similar in that regard.

We first meet Mark as he is in the middle of a five-day solo hike across a New Mexico desert. This is the first time his parents have allowed him to do something like this, and he is enjoying it immensely. While camping at night, Mark is awakened by the light of a brilliant blue beam shining on the ground from some unknown point in the sky. By a fluke of bad luck, Mark stumbles into the beam and is instantaneously transported to a strange planet.

The planet is similar enough to earth that Mark can survive, but strange enough that he has to struggle to do so. His first few weeks there are consumed with finding food and searching for the blue light to take him back home. After a while, though, he discovers that he does not dislike this solitary life and relishes in the challenge of survival. Then he finds out that there are people inhabiting this strange world, and he sets out to find them.

He first finds a group of primitive jungle-dwelling people. He endears himself to them by saving the life of one of their people; he stays with them for a few days and is captured as a slave along with them when a superior tribe raids the village. He is made into a slave for the chief of the tribe, since he looks different from the others and therefore is deemed special. Though he resents being a slave, Mark finds that he is forming a bond with these people, especially with the chief's daughter. Through them, he learns what planet he is really on and how he might get home. But now his conflict is whether or not he wants to go home--he likes the primitive life. He is shocked when he finds out that there is another like him--one from earth who also came to the strange world by a beam of light. He is a great ruler on this planet, and fears that Mark will try to overthrow him. So he tries to kill Mark and all who are with him. Because Mark knows that he is endangering his tribe by staying, he has to find a way home.

The Transall Saga is not difficult to read. I recommend it for any children fifth grade and up. Paulsen tells the story so well that I could not put it down; I read it all in one sitting. By reading this book, the children will get lost in the depths of their imagination. It will inspire them to be creative, and it will lead them to understand their own world a little bit better.

The only aspect of this book that I didn't enjoy was some lack of detail. I wanted to read even more about every character. They were all so real that I just had to know what happened to them. I hope Paulsen considers writing a sequel to The Transall Saga. I am eager to read more of such a thrilling tale.

Recommended: Yes