When The Tower comes crashing down, will they all fall with it?As summer draws to a close before the beginning of junior year, Rowyn Black is tired of seeing the Tower card stare up at her from the table.On their 16th birthday, Rowyn’s kind is gifted with awesome powers. But this is not Narnia or Hogwarts, or some other mythical realm where witches live. This is Elizabethtown, Illinois, and much … Elizabethtown, Illinois, and much to the chagrin of the local chapter of Susie-Homemakers, they live there.
All witches understand that the universe is a scary sort of powerful… on a good day. And on a bad day? Well, that’s when The Tower card shows its face during a reading.
While Rowyn hopes that the only thing The Tower foretells is the sight of the school parking lot on the first day – full of more jacked-up trucks and cut-off shorts than a Luke Bryan video – the universe has other plans.
Praise from readers:
★★★★★ – “An emotionally insightful must-read.”
★★★★★ – “If you are a fan of YA, love stories or magic, you should check this book out.”
★★★★★ – “The writing was excellent, and the book does a wonderful job of incorporating the magical with the mundane. Absolutely recommended.”
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The Tower is a YA Contemporary novel that deals with friendship, love for your best friend, and the difficulties of being different in High School. The story revolves around three friends, Rowyn, Rose, and Reed who are approaching their Senior year in high school. The three of them have been best friends since birth growing up together in their small community, their mothers best friends. Reed has been in love with Rowyn since the fifth grade, and in the way of boys, he has hinted at his feelings but has never declared them, instead playing it safe and biding his time. Rose is the glue that binds their friendship together, sweet, fairy-like, and the voice of reason. This year of their lives is a time of change, the relationships between them tested. Will they end the year stronger for the challenges they face?
The first thing you should know about this book is how great the characters have been developed. Each of the three main characters have a reason for being a part of the story. Having grown up in the witch community they are used to facing adversity. Name calling, hatred, and bigotry are a part of their daily lives, but each of them chooses to face it differently. Rowyn’s looks match her personality. She is the bold, forthright, doesn’t give a crap about what anyone thinks female heroine with the long black hair that is stereotypical of a Halloween witch. Rose is fairy-like, the peacemaker with a backbone, whose blonde looks and nice demeanor fool people into thinking she is a victim of circumstance. Reed is the charming, handsome guy who even though a witch, is non threatening and likable. Their friendship is what binds this story together.
I found the fact that they were witches fascinating. They are not “magical” and don’t ride brooms or hover in the air or anything, although they do read tarot cards, make spells, and can heal spiritually. Each of them having a different talent. These talents are just a part of their characterizations and while their spirituality is within the story, the story does not revolve around witchcraft. I found that really refreshing in a book world where people having magical powers and saving the world is totally common. This story revolves around friendship, love and acceptance. This novel was heartbreaking, heartwarming and heart filling. I probably went through a pack of tissue trying to deal with all of the emotions I was feeling as I read the story. The majority of the novel centered on Reed and Rowyn’s budding romance, but it was not all rainbows and butterfly’s. They had to overcome obstacles to somehow get to the point where they could be together, even though it seemed at the beginning of the book that it would be too easy. It was not.
Don’t let the idea of their being witches keep you from reading this book. It is a wonderful story about love and acceptance and I’d wish for each of you to pick this one up and give it a shot. Sometimes, I think I love a story because I’m in the right mood at the right time. I can honestly say that I didn’t know what to expect from The Tower and had zero expectations and it exceeded all of my imaginings. I received an ARC of this book by the author for my honest review and it was honest.