From May 2012 SLJ:
Gr 4–6—Sam is a wizard's apprentice whose master dies halfway through his education. When former students of the great man quickly arrive on the scene with their own agendas, they are not impressed with the 12-year-old's abilities, and he cannot imagine becoming an apprentice to one of them. His closest companion has been Starback, a small dragon that has followed him loyally, but when he makes his escape from Flaxfield's little home and the wizards who now occupy it, even Starback deserts him. Sam has no way of knowing that the dragon has left him to divert the magicians who are on the boy's trail. Suddenly, Sam does not know whom to trust. A dwarfish being called a roffle convinces him that if he wants to continue his magical education, he can do no better than the College. On arrival, Sam finds that the dean is more interested in parlor tricks than in the deep magic that Flaxfield taught him to respect. Moving on, he becomes caught up in a wizards' war that leaves him near death. There are flashes where the boy and Starback are able to enter each other's consciousness, but the reason for their connection is not fully developed. It is apparent early on that Ash, a creepy beetle-munching figure who adds just the right amount of ghoulishness to the story, has ties to the College and is directing the evil forces, but readers will need to wait for the next installment to learn more about her. Forward has created a complex high-fantasy world in which nothing is quite as it seems. The story line can meander, but persistent readers will enjoy getting to know Sam and entering his world.— ( )

This is a fantasy book for 3 - 5 graders. ( )

A dragon fantasy with a twist, Forward creates a fully-realized world with well-drawn characters, and a history of magic and philosophy. This novel has one of the best opening lines I've ever read: humorous and attention-grabbing (see quotations). I had to re-read a few sections as the many characters and different plots interweaved and became confusing, but it was well worth it. I love Forward's epigraph of kindness, which shows fully in the characters of Flaxfield and Sam. Starback the dragon is introduced in the opening chapters, but leaves Sam early for reasons which we learn later. One of my favorite parts was when Flaxfield gave young Sam a handful of coins and asked him, over and over, to "put them in order" in different ways. Sam arranges them by size, value, and favorites, then Flaxfield asks him to really think and do it again. Sam uses his magic to learn each coin's story and puts them in two piles: those with good stories and those with sad. Doing the magic and learning the sadness shakes the boy, so Flaxfield ends the lesson for the day and tells him to go out and play. What a great lesson! I wish every child could have such a wise and kind individual teacher. I was surprised and delighted by Forward's tribute's to one of my favorite e.e. cummings poems, "i thank You God for most this amazing day" in Book Four: Dragonborn, chapter two, page 313 where he writes: "The dragon woke from a blue dream of sky (cummings wrote "a true blue dream of sky") and "The dragon drank in the scented woodland air, the ears of his ears awake, the eyes of his eyes opened. (cummings: (now the ears of my ears awake and/now the eyes of my eyes are opened)) and "This was his birthday. He was newly made in a limitless sky over the endless earth." (cummings: "this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth day of life and love and wings:and of the gay/great happening illimitably earth.").
I was well-pleased by the outcomes and look forward to further sequels. ( )

The wizard that Sam is apprenticed to dies unexpectedly, leaving Sam alone in the world. The wizard's former apprentices, now grown, refuse to consider Sam one of them, so he runs away to make his own way. Hearing of a college for wizards, he heads there, but his course does not run smoothly.

Might be better if you're ten. ( )

The first book in the Flaxfield Quartet. Twelve-year-old Sam has been apprenticed to the great wizard Flaxfield for most of his life. When Flaxfield suddenly dies his former apprentices arrive for his ‘finishing.’ They cast doubt on whether Sam is actually an apprentice, accusing him instead of being a kitchen-boy. Sam doesn’t know who to trust and in bewilderment he runs away with his dragon, Starback. The source of an evil magic has been growing in strength and unbeknownst to Sam, he is a vital player in the battle to come. I found this story sometimes confused and tedious in places. Overall it left me with more answers than questions, but I would probably read the second book just to find out Sam’s destiny. ( )