Well of Sorrows — Joshua Palmatier

Ripped from the life he knew by the threat of civil war in his homeland, Colin and his parents are refugees in New Andover, the newly discovered continent on the far side of the ocean. But this new world holds dangers that its settlers cannot comprehend. Forced to flee onto the unexplored plains, driven there by desperation, they encounter vicious magical storms, a hostile race that will stop at nothing to protect their sacred lands, and a dark forest filled with shadow-like creatures. Attacked by these life-eating Shadows, on the brink of death, Colin is led to the forest's darkest and most dangerous secret: a Well at the heart of an ancient, crumbling city. He drinks its cold, clear waters . . . And everything changes.