The Horse and His Boy

Title: The Horse and His Boy
Author: C.S. Lewis

What it's about: Shasta is the son of a poor fisherman in the nation of Calormen, and when he finds his father is going to sell him to a rich lord to be a slave, he runs away from home with the lord's horse. The horse's name is Bree, and he is a talking horse from Narnia, a land to the north of Calormen. Shasta and Bree meet up with another set of runaways with whom they join up, and their trip to get to Narnia includes plenty of adventures, including mistaken identities and a plot against Narnia.

What I thought: This is probably my favorite of the Narnia books. I like it because of its setting and because it's really pretty different from most of the other books. The main characters aren't surrounded by chums and guiding figures; they're running away and only have each other to depend on. They're from the world they're in, not from Earth. Shasta and Aravis don't get along, but unlike with, say, Lucy and Edmund versus Eustace, neither Shasta nor Aravis is really an unlikeable character. It's just a clash of personalities. Bree's also an interesting character because of his airs. This book is a lot different from the rest of the series, and perhaps that's why it's my favorite.

Overall: A very good story, one of the best in its series.