Thomas Painter was born with the wrong name.Though his father was a brilliant painter, Thomas couldn't be less of one.His talent is woodcarving.Yet because he lives in a place where one's name dictates his trade, he is forced to be a painter's apprentice.

Destiny intervenes when a tree branch falls from the sky.For the branch, at least in Thomas's hands, is a magic wand.Thomas renames himself Carver and sets off downriver in search of someone who can teach him to use the wand.Accompanied by Raven (the bemagicked girl who dropped the wand in the first place) and the bondservant Fireboy, Carver ventures into a world filled with wonders, some glorious, some terrible, and some beyond his imagining.

Masterful storytelling and appealing, memorable characters mark this journey into a magical, beautifully realized world readers won't soon forget.