A best-seller from a curious teen.

• Position: Media - Book Review

Christopher Paolini was only 15 in 1999 when he wrote his fantasy novel Eragon, which is about a boy who finds a magic stone and then sets out to avenge the death of his uncle and to defeat an evil king. Published this summer, it debuted in the number-three position on The New York Times children's hardcover best-seller list in October. Paolini, who was home-schooled, lives with his parents and his sister in Paradise Valley, Montana. Despite his lack of formal schooling, Paolini invented three languages for his...