by Joel Penner THE HOBBIT IS a book about great adventure, as you might know already. I am almost sure you will like this book. It takes a while to get into because of Tolkien’s immense detail on things, but you will eventually find it interesting. The main characters of this book are Bilbo the Hobbit, 13 dwarves, and a wizard Gandalf. The book starts out with Gandalf trying to convince Bilbo into going on an adventure to get back treasure that was stolen long ago by the dreaded dragon Smaug, but Bilbo hates adventures. Dwarves love gold and riches; when dwarves are near gold they might get ferocious and attack. Many warriors have tried to rescue the gold and riches but failed. Eventually, Gandalf convinces Bilbo to go on the adventure. But before the adventure can start, there is an unexpected party. The dwarves help out and everybody eats great food. In the morning Bilbo sleeps in. Gandalf wakes him up and the adventure begins! Bilbo finds a ring accidentally in the cave in the Misty Mountains of the ring-keeper, Gollum. The ring has the power to make the wearer invisible in darkness, and in any kind of light you will cast a shadow, but the downside is…well, you will find out when you read The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo’s job in the adventure is that he is a thief because he is quick and nimble. Bilbo always wants to be back in his nice comfortable hobbit-hole but he is on an adventure so, of course, he cannot do that. When Gandalf the wizard leaves the group of adventurers everybody is sad. They ask for him to stay but he has important business to attend to. They offer him shares of their treasures, or anything else that they could think of, but he leaves eventually. When Gandalf leaves, Bilbo realizes his own power, luck and control. He makes many of the decisions and helps people out with his ring of invisibility. The dwarves and Bilbo get help along the way from various friends, colonies of dwarves and other species. Bilbo helps his friends a lot and is greatly loved inside the group. I liked the book because I like adventures. I also liked it because it has lots and lots of surprises. You can’t really predict what will happen next. I was actually scared by this book. This is probably one of the best books out! Tolkein, J.R.R. The Hobbit. Harper Collins: London, 1999. 304 Pages.     You can respond to the author here (responses may be posted) or on our messageboard.