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There are many different ways that the importance of family can be shown, whether it is shown through a real life event, movie, or even book. Jennifer A. Nielsen does a great job explaining the importance of family in Rise of the Wolf through Nicolas Calva, a slave boy who will do anything it takes to save his family from the corrupt leaders of Rome. Nic obtains a special amulet that he found in a cave, which was believed to belong to Julius Caesar. This special amulet gives him extraordinary powers such as super strength and telekinesis. The Praetors find out that he obtains this amulet/bulla and try many times to take it from him and even kill him for it. Nic has proven to be strong with the bulla, but the Praetors still think he is a slave boy. Now there is something more important and stronger than Nic’s amulet, which is the Malice of Mars.

In the previous book of the three-book trilogy, Mark of the Thief, Nic destroyed the coliseum/amphitheater of Rome, and was on the most wanted list at the time. His own grandpa, Radulf, wanted to kill him for his magic. After fighting his grandpa in a brutal battle, he is near death and his grandpa gives him and his friend, Aurelia, a chance to live, only if Nic lives with him and abides by his rules. Of course, Nic rejected the offer because he wanted to leave the slave life and would rather die, but it was Aurelia’s life on the line, that left him no choice to but to agree to this.. The Praetors gave Nic one chance to be free, and that was if he could win a chariot race with a unicorn. Now, Nic thought this was easy, but there was a catch; the Praetors said Aurelia would be part of the chariot and only one person could win and that was to the death. Also if Nic didn’t win the chariot race, his mother would die.

The Praetors want Nic’s dead body, but since his grandpa is a general, he tricks them into believing that he is punishing him for his deeds. His grandpa is proven guilty that he had been punishing Nic and so he was put in jail. This gave the Praetors, and their new leader Brutus, an open shot to imprison Nic, make him pay for his deeds, and steal the power of the amulet for him. The Praetors believed that Nic had the Malice of Mars, but he didn’t and when Radulf escaped prison, he unleashed his wrath and the power of the Malice of Mars against all of Rome. Radulf went after Nic because Nic didn’t do anything when Radulf was getting imprisoned. Nic managed to beat Radulf and steal the amulet. Nic had the Malice of Mars, and as soon as he was ready to get Aurelia and leave, he saw her held captive by Roman soldiers. Brutus told Nic that if he gave him the Malice of Mars and the bulla, to create the ultimate weapon, the Jupiter Stone, he could leave with Aurelia. Nic declined the offer and witnessed a blade go through Aurelia ‘s body. He was broken and ran to her and unleashed magic on all the soldiers. He ran to Aurelia and tried to save her with the little magic he had left, but the arena was collapsing because of Nic’s magic and he didn’t have enough time to save Aurelia.

Nic had to make a difficult decision: to either save himself or die with Aurelia. He put a force field around Aurelia and managed to get her out of the arena safely, but he didn’t have enough magic to get himself out of there. He was out of time and the arena broke into pieces and he was left with one question, “Is this how I would die”?

I would rate this book 4.5/5 stars because I enjoyed reading the first two books and am looking forward to the last book of the trilogy. The only thing I wish was different about the book was the speed of it. I wish it could be a little faster, but that is just my preference and opinion, and that shouldn’t stop the reader from reading this amazing book.  I chose to read this book because I am a big fan of Roman mythology and I love reading Jennifer A. Nielsen’s trilogies. This book really taught me what some people would do to save their families, even if they are fictional characters. I really think this book helped me understand the true importance of family and I hope it can teach others as well.

Checkout Rise of the Wolf from the Newport Beach Public Library.