Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
129th out of 318 books
—
594 voters
Rowan of Rin (Rowan of Rin #1)
by
Emily Rodda (Goodreads Author)
Bravest heart will carry on when sleep is death, and hope is gone.Rowan doesn't believe he has a brave heart. But when the river that supports his village of Rin runs dry, he must join a dangerous journey to its source in the forbidden Mountain. To save Rin, Rowan and his companions must conquer not only the Mountain's many tricks, but also the fierce dragon that lives at...more
Paperback, 151 pages
Published
February 17th 2004
by Greenwillow Books
(first published 1993)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
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...more
This novel has foundations that ring of classic adventures of legend. You have a very clear goal and the challenges...more
A Tale of Courage
Gentle spirited Rowan is thought of as weak by the strong and hardy folk in his village, Rin. He doesn’t measure up to the other villagers; in him they see no value and he has learned to see no value in himself. Only the peaceful creatures he tends named the bukshah love and appreciate him. When an expedition to the top of the mountain is formed to save the bukshah Rowan is forced to go. Haunted by fear and scorned and pitied by the other members of the expedition Rowan is drive...more
Gentle spirited Rowan is thought of as weak by the strong and hardy folk in his village, Rin. He doesn’t measure up to the other villagers; in him they see no value and he has learned to see no value in himself. Only the peaceful creatures he tends named the bukshah love and appreciate him. When an expedition to the top of the mountain is formed to save the bukshah Rowan is forced to go. Haunted by fear and scorned and pitied by the other members of the expedition Rowan is drive...more
I read this book a decade ago and loved it, and I have just reread it again and still enjoy it immensely.
The plot is simple: Cowardly Rowan must journey with six companions up a mountain to discover and fix the cause behind why water is no longer reaching their village.
Rin is a village filled with people who are strong and raised to be brave, seek adventure, and show no weakness, but Rowan is different. He's easily frightened and openly displays his weaknesses. The only friends he has are the...more
The plot is simple: Cowardly Rowan must journey with six companions up a mountain to discover and fix the cause behind why water is no longer reaching their village.
Rin is a village filled with people who are strong and raised to be brave, seek adventure, and show no weakness, but Rowan is different. He's easily frightened and openly displays his weaknesses. The only friends he has are the...more
This book is another fantasy book that I enjoy. “Seven hearts the journey make. Seven ways the hearts will break. Bravest heart will carry on, when sleep is death, and hope is gone. Look in the fiery jaws of fear, and see the answer white and clear, then throw away all thoughts of home, for only then your quest is done.” In this paragraph you can see that the 7 people is the main character in the journey and in each part of the journey one people will goes back home, the last person who remain w...more
This book is a lot better then I thought it would be. It is a sort of fantisy sci-fi book as it is set in the made up land of rin. A male hero named Rowan is given a task to go to the top of the ice mountain and find out what is stopping the water from flowing into his village. Through his journey with his friends a lot of magical things happen. Its a good read to take a break from all those tough books.
I read this book with my son, and while both of us ultimately enjoyed it, we also thought it took much too long to get moving. Rodda spends a long time in the beginning setting up the perceived and real weaknesses of Rowan, providing a distance between him and the other villagers. From an adult perspective, the language of the novel was repetitive, especially at the start. There's a strangely stilted aspect to the dialogue (and sometimes the exposition) that I suppose comes from an attempt to re...more
I loved this series. I recommend it to any young fantasy lovers, especially shy 10-year-old boys. Fantasy is not my thing, but both my sons loved fantasy books, so I've read an awful lot (aloud). Emily Rodda was a favourite for all of us. Her books are rich in every way: vivid settings, full characters, well told stories. There are quests to make, lives to save, riddles to solve, monsters to vanquish, evil to defeat, and an unlikely hero to do it all.
Because my kids are 7 years apart, they went...more
Because my kids are 7 years apart, they went...more
I have been looking for good books for my boys who are voracious readers. They saw this at the book fair, and I was a little skeptical, but the reviews sounded ok, so I let them get it. I decided I better read it to see what it's about. I think this is one of my favorite books they have. It was a story about a fantasy people, maybe like Lord of the Rings where they have their own words, names of things, magic, lands and history. It had suspense and danger, but it surrounded fears - water, spider...more
Other than an ending that was a little too fantastically tidy, I enjoyed this little adventure. Rowan was a likeable character, and even though the reader knows he's going to make it from the beginning (otherwise the book wouldn't be named after him, right?) it was still a little surprising to see the rest of the adventuring party fall away. This was a pretty typical quest story with good characters.
This appealed to the shy child in me - I could really identify with Rowan. He made me feel like i...more
This appealed to the shy child in me - I could really identify with Rowan. He made me feel like i...more
Based on many recommendations, I selected this book for Grant to read. He wasn't interested, so I told him I'd read the first chapter to him. The first time we tried, I fell asleep by page 5 -- no joke. The second time we tried, I gave up on page 9 or 10 because the names were getting ridiculous! There were SO many names, and they were strange (hard to pronounce and made-up) and ambiguous (can't tell gender). I couldn't keep track who was who and I found myself caring less with each sentence fur...more
May 29, 2012
Nicole
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
middle_grade
I'd probably even give this one a 4.5. A really wonderful mid-grade fantasy (the first of a 5-part series). Young Rowan is a bit meeker than his peers, and he is often looked down on from adults and children alike in his village. But then his village is threatened by a serious drought, and the village needs to send a questing party to the top of the mountain (where none have returned from) to try and puzzle out the source of the stopped river. Thanks to the nudging of the local "witch," Rowan mu...more
Nov 27, 2011
Louise
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1001-children-s-books
The first book of Emily Rodda's first hit series (befor the even bigger Deltora Quest) A hero story for the shy, wimpy, quiet kids. Rowan is the shy, and timid herder of the bukshah (milk producing animals that the people of Rin keep). One day the stream coming from the mountain stops running. An expedition sets off from Rin to investigate the cause. Seven people set off, six adults and Rowan, a 10 year old boy, who is seen as weak and a liability. But Rowan is the only person who can read the m...more
view 2 comments
Mar 23, 2013
Jessica
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-young-adult
This is such a great coming of age book for 9-11 year olds. It is a quest book with a prophecy. The main character is weak and unsure of himself. He is "forced" to go on a quest to save his town which somehow has lost its water supply. With a map to lead 7 of them, which only Rowan can make reveal the path, they are thrown into many physical and mental challenges. People once strong, become weak and vice versa. True characters become visible.
It is great to draw a map while it is being read. I su...more
It is great to draw a map while it is being read. I su...more
At first when I picked up this book I didn't think that it would be able to keep me interested, but after I started reading it my mind was certainly intrigued. Rowan of Rin is about a small town that starts to run out of water. To regain water the strongest people of the town are chosen to climb the mountain(which on top of contains a dragon). Anyways.. the crazy town physcic give them a map that only shows them directions when Rowan is holding it. Rowan climbs the mountain with the strong guys...more
I just finished reading this book to my class of year 4 students.
They voted on the star rating themselves. (1 student gave 3 stars, 2 students gave it 4 stars and the rest gave it 5).
Here are some of their comments:
"I loved the book because it was exciting the whole way through"
"I liked the part where they were fighting the dragon, and how they go into the tunnel"
"It was cool when they got to the dragon and ran from the dragon"
"I only gave it 3 stars because it has some boring bits and some real...more
They voted on the star rating themselves. (1 student gave 3 stars, 2 students gave it 4 stars and the rest gave it 5).
Here are some of their comments:
"I loved the book because it was exciting the whole way through"
"I liked the part where they were fighting the dragon, and how they go into the tunnel"
"It was cool when they got to the dragon and ran from the dragon"
"I only gave it 3 stars because it has some boring bits and some real...more
I read this before my son got all the way through it, because I wanted to know how scary the scary parts were!
This story, complete with a map at the beginning for the reader, is the perfect start for kids interested the LOTR genre but aren't old enough to tackle Tolkien. I especially like that Rowan, the main character, is a scared kid, not a hulking grown-up, and the readers can identify with his emotions and actions the whole way through.
This was the perfect challenge for my son, who is done w...more
This story, complete with a map at the beginning for the reader, is the perfect start for kids interested the LOTR genre but aren't old enough to tackle Tolkien. I especially like that Rowan, the main character, is a scared kid, not a hulking grown-up, and the readers can identify with his emotions and actions the whole way through.
This was the perfect challenge for my son, who is done w...more
This was a sweet, easy read. I would definitely class it as a children’s story, but it was still a really enjoyable read. I loved the world that Rodda created. Despite it being a rather small book, the world still had depth and we learnt some of the history. I loved how compressed the story was. It was fast paced and yet it was still descriptive and detailed. Rodda did a great job of keeping the story flowing and being very concise with the descriptions. I particularly liked the little riddles i...more
A personal favourite from my childhood which doesn't quite live up to the hype... I remembered "Rowan of Rin" as a great adventure story, albeit a predictable one, but this time around I found it a bit shallow and - maybe - underdone?
Don't get me wrong. This is a great children's book with a lot of memorable moments, but it's not "The Hobbit". Some of the characters are interesting and engaging, but emotional depth is not included. The audience has to read between the lines and apply paint with...more
Don't get me wrong. This is a great children's book with a lot of memorable moments, but it's not "The Hobbit". Some of the characters are interesting and engaging, but emotional depth is not included. The audience has to read between the lines and apply paint with...more
As the story opens, the town of Rin is facing catastrophe - the river that runs through their village has gone dry, which means no water for the bukshah, the herd animals the villagers depend on. The river comes from the mountain, so the problem must be up there, but although many have ventured up the mountain, none have ever returned and all fear the dragon rumored to live at the top. Small Rowan, keeper of the bukshah and least of the villagers, through a strange series of events becomes one o...more
Rowan lives in the small, mountain town of Rin. He is looked down upon for being a weakling.
One day he discovers a map that only he can read, and he follows it along with six others because it could mean the fate of his town.
The stream that is the village's survival has stopped flowing, and its up to them to see if they can discover the mystery of why it stopped.
Rowan and the other followers end up climbing the Forbidden Mountain, where the source of the stream is.
On the way they are challenged...more
One day he discovers a map that only he can read, and he follows it along with six others because it could mean the fate of his town.
The stream that is the village's survival has stopped flowing, and its up to them to see if they can discover the mystery of why it stopped.
Rowan and the other followers end up climbing the Forbidden Mountain, where the source of the stream is.
On the way they are challenged...more
This was one of my favourite children's books. Rowan, shy and weak, is the misfit of his village where strength and courage is highly valued. One day the stream that supplies their water dries up and a quest to the source at the top of the mountain ensues. Only Rowan must go on the quest because the map leading the way will only appear when in his hands.
Emily Ronda is a great children's writer and even though now her characters and plot seem a little clichéd I still enjoyed revisiting this book...more
Emily Ronda is a great children's writer and even though now her characters and plot seem a little clichéd I still enjoyed revisiting this book...more
I couldn't figure out the genre of this book at first. Rodda, the author, did such a great job of creating the setting. She made the place real. Challenge yourself to discover if Rowan's (the main character) point of view is complete. You can also try to figure out the riddles in the book. Make sure you keep track of the many characters in the beginning--don't read too fast.
I think this is a great book for advanced fourth grade readers who like fantasy.
I think this is a great book for advanced fourth grade readers who like fantasy.
1 like · like · see review
This book was amazing! I first read Emily Rodda's series The Fairy Realm and I loved her writings. When I heard this story, I thought I wouldn't like it much. But that feeling changed quickly. Somewhere at the beginning of the first chapter. It was really exciting and meaningfull and I loved it. Actually, I'm thinking I like it better than Fairy Realm. I would have this book on my shelf and I like to look at it there. Please read it, it would be a a crime to miss.
A review from my old blog...
Rowan of Rin is the first book in a series on the assigned middle school reading list for the district where I live. Before I looked up the list to add to my grand to be read list I had never heard of the book.
I wish some of these books had been written when I was in middle school. I would have grabbed them off the shelf as fast as I could. When I was that age I absolutely loved fantasy and would have incorporated all kinds of aspects into my own writings.
This book de...more
Rowan of Rin is the first book in a series on the assigned middle school reading list for the district where I live. Before I looked up the list to add to my grand to be read list I had never heard of the book.
I wish some of these books had been written when I was in middle school. I would have grabbed them off the shelf as fast as I could. When I was that age I absolutely loved fantasy and would have incorporated all kinds of aspects into my own writings.
This book de...more
I read this a long time ago, over 6 years ago, when I was probably 14 or 15 I'm not sure. What I do know is that until this day, in my early twenties I still remember, the story, the world in which it was set, and the characters very well. Really good book. It even has some great lessons and allegories I slightly remember. Such as strength and weakness not necessarily being a physical attribute.
I didn't know there was a series or other books about Rowan. I might definitely even go back and read...more
I didn't know there was a series or other books about Rowan. I might definitely even go back and read...more
Emily Rodda's books are great for young readers who want adventure and new worlds to explore. Rowan of Rin is a quest book, but it also teaches that there is more than one kind of strength and the importance of kindness. Rowan realizes that he can be afraid and still do hard things when it is required of him.
I highly recommend this book for kids about ...
To read the full review go to http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
I highly recommend this book for kids about ...
To read the full review go to http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
Had to read this for Children's Lit. It was ok. There were a lot of generic fantasy cliches; the quest, the dragon, the mountain, the map, blah blah. But it was quite well-written and would be perfectly suited to about a year-seven level kid who's into fantasy. My husband, for example, (a dedicated sci-fi and fantasy lover) tells me he adored this when he was a kid.
I think I am just not a fantasy person.
I think I am just not a fantasy person.
I thought it was one of the best Emily Rodda series. It was full of riddles, dangers and adventures. This Adventure novel was about a group of village folk who go up a mountain and face their fears (most of the time running from their fears). It really got me hooked because it had everything. mysteries, magic, spiders, dragons and more!!!
I read this book when I was in primary school and just re-read it. It was almost as good as I remembered, except that this time it took me a few hours to read, whereas before it took me a few weeks.
I think it's a great children's book and the writing was developed enough not to do my head in. It was a quick, entertaining read.
I think it's a great children's book and the writing was developed enough not to do my head in. It was a quick, entertaining read.
Rowan is small and frightened and wonders if his mum loves him because he's so scared of everything that the village finds stong and brave.
What child or teen does this not speak to? Feeling different, and misunderstood and even not sure of love.
This book was published when I was in my 20s, so I never really knew about it. Such a shame, because I would have devoured this story, and it's characters and believed it into my soul.
As a parent I can see different things that are important - things that...more
What child or teen does this not speak to? Feeling different, and misunderstood and even not sure of love.
This book was published when I was in my 20s, so I never really knew about it. Such a shame, because I would have devoured this story, and it's characters and believed it into my soul.
As a parent I can see different things that are important - things that...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragons | 3 | 13 | Sep 05, 2012 05:26pm | |
| Rowan of Rin - by Emily Rodda | 2 | 10 | Sep 02, 2012 01:10am | |
| Rowan of Rin | 6 | 16 | Sep 02, 2012 01:09am |
Emily Rodda (real name Jennifer Rowe) was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1973 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. Moving into a publishing career, first as a book editor, and finally as a publisher at Angus & Robertson, Rodda's first book was published in 1984.
More about Emily Rodda...
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
