The Druid

Bestseller Wheeler (the First Argentines series) launches his Dawning of Muirwood series with this gripping tale of teen servant Eilean, who must decide whether to stick to the beliefs she’s always known or risk her life following a powerful religious rebel. Eilean serves the maston order, founded around the Medium, a force that is both a power source and something like a religion. She’s honored to be chosen to travel with her abbey’s Aldermaston to a new abbey being built in the Kingdom of Moros. There, the Aldermaston himself entrusts her with a special job: she’ll serve the imprisoned druid, Mordaunt, who’s held captive in Moros’s castle, with the goal of befriending him and getting him to reveal the location of an ancient tome. Eilean does as she’s told—but the more time she spends with Mordaunt, the more she realizes that the maston order no longer serves the Medium. With her own powers growing, it’s up to her to help those who still do. Wheeler loads his tale with magic, intrigue, and believably conflicted characters. Readers will be impatient to know what happens next. (May)