Rangers Apprentice by John Flanagan

I found this series to be pretty refreshing. It's not centered around kids with magical powers or focused on romance. It is set in the past when you had nobles and their estates and knights that abided by a honorable code. It follows a few young children with no parents that a noble takes into his estate to raise. There comes a time when all these parentless children are apprenticed out. Will always had his sight on being a knight along with his friend Horace, however, he does not have the size or muscle to make it as one. A very rare chance occurs for him to apprentice out as a Ranger, a very mysterious trade that few understand or have the chance to participate in. These books follow Will as he trains and then helps defeat an enemy. He later is captured and escapes with a Princess from another area and finally gets his first post to watch on his own. Rangers are assigned to areas to watch for danger and any possible uprisings from neighboring countries. When I started this series I thought it would be like most series with just a few books, however, I have learned that there are suppose to be about 11 books total. These books must have started out in Europe since 10/11 books have been released there but only 6 have been released in the US. We're a little behind and need to catch up.