Weakest Beast Tamer is an encouraging story. The weakest beast tamer is a boy name Ren Patinder, and "weakest" refers to his "beast." That beast is a mushroom that is growing on his scalp.
In a world where huge animals and ferocious beasts attach themselves to children during a sort of sorting ceremony when they turn ten-years-old, Ren finds that his poor family could only secure a poor mystery beast. Was it a mouse? an insect? No. It was weaker. A mushroom: a bluish gray-green mushroom that takes up residence on in his thick red hair on top of his head. Ren is mocked and badgered, but he learns to listen to his "beast" -- the mushroom -- and it begins to quietly teach him all he needs to know about his world, and more besides.
Fragile, little Ren makes friends with other outcast boys when they begin living in a boarding school near the capital, and although some teachers mock him and others feel sorry for him for having such a pitiful beast, others encourage him, spend time with him, train him. Ren and his mushroom become strong.
This little book is full of surprises, and Ren is a delightful character, but this book is only the first in what promises to be a very interesting series. If you are not afraid of surprises, have a look. "Weakest Beast Tamer" proves to be a wonderful "coming-of-age story" about a poor boy who seems to have no wealth and no advantages, but who builds a solid future for himself, his friends and his mushroom.