Imagination

I've liked to read as long as I remember. And with it came the pleasure of writing. I remember being just about six and enjoying a school assignment to write a legend about an animal. I chose to explain why frogs jump -something about them having to cross a road of burning coal for some reason. Another assignment was to narrate one of these pictures only storybooks. I liked doing that so much that I went to my neighborhood library and find some other books to write about. I had multiple other experiences like these over the years. It started so early that I don't know if it was just because of a single book. I just remember writing since I learned how and loving the feeling it gives me every time.

But when I read the rules of this challenge, a book did come to my mind. A series of books actually, that I started to read when I was twelve and read a couple of times more since then. These books have been written by Pierre Bottero, a French author that unfortunately died a few years ago, at only forty-five. The first book of the series is titled La quête d'Ewilan, which simply translates to Ewilan's quest. In all appearances, it is a classic example of a fantasy novel for teens -which I was at the time I read it so that makes sense. But for me, it's so much more and it allowed me to escape when things were not bright in the real life.

Let me tell you a bit more about the plot: Camille, thirteen years old, single adopted child of strict and not so loving parents, find school boring and too easy. She never feels quite in her element anywhere. One of the only good thing in her life is her best friend Salim, that can always make her laugh. One day, to avoid being run over by a truck she instinctively crosses to and comes back from a parallel universe. Later she will willingly go back into this parallel wold accompanied by Salim.

In this world called Gwendalavir, there's magic! With magic everything is possible. Magic has a name. It's called Imagination. So... if with imagination everything is possible, a writer has infinite power no?

This series of book is filled with adventures, friendships, love, magic, humor, weird creatures and so much more. Page after page, you discover something new, someone new... A Ts'liche, a half lizard half mantis deadly beast. A great warrior like Edwin. A funny and loyal knight like Bjorn. The sensitive Artis from the Dreamers guild (la confrérie des Rêveurs). And my favorite, Ellana, a Shadowalker (Marchombre).

A thing I found poetic is that Camille uses Imagination to literally jump into another world where everything is possible. I feel as if I'm doing the same thing when I'm writing.

So even though I was writing before reading this book, this was the first book that made me think that I could be a writer. I greatly recommend everyone to read this series no matter if you're a kid or an adult. The only thing is that I don't think the books have been translated into other languages, so you better start learning French :)