Finding the Oak Tree: The First Druid Chronicle, by Louis Orozco Lopez, is an intriguing coming-of-age story of a young boy who can’t remember his name and appears from nowhere. He sets out on a gauntlet where you have a wealth of knowledge at your disposal if you’re the last man -or woman- standing. Few enter. Not many live to claim the prize. His journey of self-discovery takes him through darkness and into the light of his past.

I enjoyed this thought-provoking story as when it first starts out, the reader is not introduced to the main character; instead, the story just begins. This is partly due to the fact that the main character doesn’t know his name. He also is clueless about his past. We come to know him by the name Bera, but later, he is called Sol.

The main character is interesting as he has learned so much from his teacher and the reader watches him put his skills to use. I enjoyed the magical aspect of the story as it really enhances the characters and ups the stakes. Another aspect of the story I enjoyed was the addition of the quotes from different characters with snippets of knowledge sharing, and it sets the tone for each chapter.

The author flawlessly switches between characters making it easy to follow along. The timeline doesn’t follow a linear fashion, so the reader gets bits and pieces of information out of order. By doing this, I was eager to know more, and it made the book hard to put down. One aspect that stood out to me was the author’s use of descriptive language. His worldbuilding really brings readers into the story and allows them to feel like they are part of the action. I was able to clearly imagine what was going on. I was so immersed in the story that I was shocked once I got to the end. The ending of the story was unexpected.

Finding the Oak Tree: The First Druid Chronicle is a breathtaking epic fantasy. This coming-of-age novel will appeal to teens and young adults with an exciting adventure story and action from start to finish.

Pages: 220 | ASIN : B09N21FFFQ