All I can say is wow.

Of all of the Chronicles of Prydain novels so far, Taran Wanderer is my absolute favorite. I sure didn’t think it would be, since Princess Eilonwy and a few of my other favorite characters were notably absent. But Lloyd Alexander’s lovely coming-of-age story about Taran seeking out his heritage—and finding much more than he’d hoped to, though not what he set after—was just a marvelous adventure story filled with heroism, character, friendship, and life lessons.

It’s funny, even the book itself seemed to be developing into something older, more mature. The first three Prydain books I checked out from the library were set in children’s text with large print letters and wide covers. Taran Wanderer was actually a hardback novel with smaller print, much more like something you’d find in the teen section. (Spoilers ahead.)

As Taran Wanderer begins, our favorite assistant pig-keeper is missing Eilonwy very much as she “trains” to become a princess. He decides that if he ever has a shot at marrying her, he must have some kind of royal blood in his veins. Dallben claims he cannot answer Taran, and that the young man will have to seek out his answers elsewhere. He does, however, grant Taran permission and, along with his faithful friend Gurgi (whom I think is severely underrated and underappreciated throughout the past couple of novels, by the way—one of very few complaints I have about the delightful series), Taran sets off to find out who he really is.

Unlike so many “find myself” journeys that we hear about today, Taran’s is rife with conflicts, struggles, and fear. He remains courageous, however, and performs amazing as ever feats—saving a king, solving feudal quarrels and preventing war, and most of all, helping the peasant people he comes to meet along the way. Though Taran has been shedding his preconceptions about heroism and what it means to be an important person since the very first book, he still clenches onto the one idea he has that he believes will make him suitable for his Eilonwy; however, as he journeys throughout this wonderful book, it becomes apparent that the qualities and character he seeks is present moreso in the peasant folks that he meets and in what they do than in any noble blood he may come across. By the end of his journey, having apprenticed with several people (for short periods of time) and grown wiser from his many exploits—as well as coming to terms with his own shame—Taran truly becomes a man whom, I think most readers will feel, is more than enough for his Eilonwy.