Happenstance Found (Books of Umber)
I was surprised that I liked this book. From the beginning, I thought it was yet another orphan-with-powers book. It is more than that and surprised me several times by thwarting my expectations. I really liked the Umber character, and I thought his manic-depression was an interesting twist in the story (again, somewhat unexpected in a fantasy book). Overall, it is a pretty solid effort.