Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Magisterium: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Rating 4 out of 5
Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 - 7
Series: Magisterium (Book 1)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1St Edition edition (September 9, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545522250
ISBN-13: 978-0545522250
ASIN: B00HFAY9LO

Summary:
Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial. Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail. All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him. So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing. Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future. The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

I had so much fun reading this book.

For me it was fun and fresh, setting the reader to go in one direction then changing direction on you as you continue through the story. It was fascinating and I see so many possibilities with the direction the author took 

I really enjoyed Call. He is angry and sarcastic and his mouth just works of its own accord. He is fun to read and had me chuckling a few times with his antics. The other characters Tamara and Aaron are also good value and compliment his character well.

The action and pacing was well balanced to keep the story bubbling along. The action scenes were fantastical and edge of the seat stuff.

The world built by Black and Clare is an interesting one and I am curious to learn more about it. I liked that the magic was elemental based and the little elemental animals were pretty cool (Chaos ridden puppy anyone?). We got enough information and back story that we know the basics of this world but I will be curious to see how the authors develop the world over the next books. I can easily see there being way more then meets the eye with this world.

I will briefly touch on the comparisons people are drawing to Harry Potter. If you go looking for the comparisons I am sure you will find them. I didn't compare it and I enjoyed the book on its own for its own merits.

If you like YA modern fantasy (don't think this can be classed as urban as they are in a cave in the middle of no where) then this will be a fun read.

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