LitPick Review
Twelve-year-old Cullen lives with the Samuels, a foster family that treats him horribly. He is picked on at school, and his only friends are fellow outcasts Maddy and April. Cullen spends much of his time in a magnificent redwood forest near his home, where he is safe to imagine magical worlds where anything is possible.
When his cruel foster father burns all his favorite books, there isn't much left for Cullen. Devastated, he takes refuge in the forest once again, and he finds a stick of wood. It turns out it is actually a wand imprisoning Rowan, a Celtic sorcerer. Rowan possesses Cullen, and they are able to communicate with each other. Cullen comes to learn that more than 1,400 years ago, Rowan and his wife Fiana were separated during the marriage ceremony. It is up to him to unite the two lovers again. But within the last hundreds of years, Fiana has been consumed by the dark magic she turned to in order stay young.
Opinion:
Rowan of the Wood is chock-full of vampires, magic, supernatural beings, and ancient history. It is a good read for anybody who loves fantasy and magic. I was reminded of Harry Potter in some parts; especially because Cullen wants magic to exist so badly, and is a young, orphaned boy living with uncaring foster parents and a bully foster brother. I felt like the writing was not as polished as it could be, and that it seemed forced at times. In other places, I thought the book was very interesting, mainly because of the combination of mythology with everyday affairs.
