Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda

The people of Rin are very proud of their courage but the boy Rowan is shameful to them.  Then their river runs dry and Rowan is forced to join the dangerous journey to the top of the mountain in order to save their village.  The brave group is unhappy to have Rowan among them but before they reach the top all will be reminded that before you can have courage first you must have fear.

This novel has foundations that ring of classic adventures of legend.  You have a very clear goal and the challenges are each clearly laid out incidents.  Rowan doesn’t really do anything wrong, but he can’t seem to do anything write in the eyes of the village.  Though the narrator definitely lets you see the more likeable aspects of Rowan that everyone else seems to miss.  As far as the enchanted map I like how it is introduced.  I initially expected that the riddles would each account for the fall of a member but it didn’t quite pan out that way.  I was also glad that in the end the witch was wrong about something.  It was a good way of making sure that you didn’t think she orchestrated it.  I think the ending was pretty well laid out. I liked it, something kept me from loving it but I honestly am not sure what.  I think perhaps this is one of those cases where the intended age has made a barrier for older readers.  So I would definitely highly recommend to the whole age 8 and up group as stated on the back of my copy.