As a kid, I tried Warrior Scarlet and bounced off it. It was too boy-viewpoint in a way that I couldn't easily insert myself in (for comparison, I could insert myself in the cartoon show Johnny Quest, which I watched as a kid, with ease, even though all the characters were male: I just decided that Johnny's sidekick, Hadji, was female--simple!.) Also, doesn't it start out with him being stuck with the kids because he was a cripple and so OF COURSE can't do ANYTHING (says society)? That gave me a big yeah, no from the start. ... I think if I'd been older I might have had more patience.

That line from the Beowulf retelling is gorgeous. It seems like straight translation, even.