Book review: Rooted by Amy Good Therianthropy at its best.

This is an easy book for me to recommend. Why? It’s brilliant. Easy to read, action packed, wonderfully written characters, a touch of romance, and most importantly werewolves! Right from the very start the story grips you, as a brutal murder of a mother takes place in a small sleepy town in America where nothing out of the ordinary normally ever happens. The significance and the effects of this death are unravelled throughout the story as the plot thickens. The son of the dead woman, Grayson, who is a strongly written and is a beautiful tortured soul, battles with who he is and although strong, has a fragility that is heart-warming. My favourite character from Rooted has to be Chloe, and we view the story from her perspective. Chloe, a recent orphan herself, is a resilient teenager, and even though she has super powers, she is a very warm human character, worrying about her friendships and her place in the world. At the start of the story, her best friend of two years is Lillian, a cheerleader and natural beauty. Chloe starts the story off very much walking in her shadow and in complete admiration of her friend. But the introduction of a strange and somewhat out-of-place new character called Margot, who dresses like she is from the 1950s, shifts the dynamics of their friendship, with disastrous results. Thankfully, Chloe gets the support of a new friend Rebecca, and you feel Chloe’s relief in having a good friend. Rebecca is as human as you can get and her character grounds the story. Rebecca’s father, who gives respite and food to Chloe, adds a caring adult to the plot, which balances it nicely. I liked Chloe’s interaction with nature; she was soulful and kind. Never had I ever wanted to be a character in a book more than I did with Chloe. There is so much that I loved about this book, there are several plots and things happing at once, but it all comes together at the end; and like a light being switched on, you see the whole story. Amy beautifully writes every word with care. I love how she describes every detail from the food they’re eating, the clothes they’re wearing, even the coldness and dampness of the weather. I am a slow reader normally. But was hooked from the start. I forgot everything, from the washing up and even my writing. I just had to read the next chapter and the next until it was finished; it was like a drug. I cannot believe that this was Amy’s first book; here is a great writer, I am proud to write this review, and I look forward to reading anything else she writes. So if you have not read Amy’s book, go and read her book, and it’s free to download here https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/363165 Amazing art work on the cover also by Danielle Tunstall (http://www.danielletunstall.com/).