When I first read this in middle school, I was more or less convinced that this was the coolest book in the universe. It has dragons. Elves. Dwarves. Magic! An "average" farm boy who was destined for more - I was an average school kid who wanted to be destined for more. It was a match made in heaven, and it set me up to read a lot of other fantasy and action/adventure novels. For that, I'm grateful for Eragon. 
 Unfortunately, reading more of the fantasy genre meant that I began recognizing the stereotypes and cliches that Eragon relied on. In fact, there wasn't much story past those cliches. The more I read, the more I realized that I'd been idolizing this novel for all the wrong reasons. 
 For nostalgia's sake, I can easily give the book 2.5 stars. It was a great entry point into the fantasy genre for me. I'm a sucker for stories with dragons.