What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I'm sorry in advance for what little information I know, but I only read a few pages about 7 years ago and not being able to find this book is killing me...
I'm sure that it'll be fantasy, (not childrens though despite my age or how young it may seem) published before 2008 as I think that's when I found it and that was in a 2nd hand book shop.
As far as I can recall the plot was about a boy, possibly a baby in the beginning who was brought to a castle/keep for some reason where he started growing up and realised he could talk to animals. I feel like this first realisation might've been either from a random sparrow that was flying around or maybe a gate keeper's dog.
I'm sorry I can recall so little but I only read about 20 pages and I was about 12.

Melanie, you've given some good details. Now let's see if we can add a couple more that people often find helpful when remembering books.
Do you remember anything about the cover?
Was the book new when you read it, or do you think it was published a while before you read it?

You can bump this thread to the top of the list every month or so. That way it can be seen by new eyes and re-seen by others who may recall something then.

This could be many different books, but one possibility is Assassin's Apprentice

Adele thank you so much! Having read the plot I'm sure that's the book and you've no idea how happy it's made me to finally find out.

I'm glad it was the right one! :-)