A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)

Ged's movement among Earthsea's islands makes the archipelago feel wider than any single school or kingdom. Small boats, different communities and the exposure of open water turn his magical predicament into a journey with physical scale. Le Guin's spare telling rewards readers happy to imagine the spaces between its sharply chosen details. Start here for the Earthsea sequence; its map is a welcome companion rather than a test to master.