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.

Valiant by Holly Black

Rating 3 1/2 out of 5

Summary: When seventeen-year-old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system. But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. Impulsive Lolli talks of monsters in the subway tunnels they call home and shoots up a shimmery amber-coloured powder that makes the shadows around her dance. Severe Luis claims he can make deals with creatures that no one else can see. And then there's Luis's brother, timid and sensitive Dave, who makes the mistake of letting Val tag along as he makes a delivery to a woman who turns out to have goat hooves instead of feet. When a bewildered Val allows Lolli to talk her into tracking down the hidden lair of the creature for whom Luis and Dave have been dealing, Val finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus. He is as hideous as he is honourable. And as Val grows to know him, she finds herself torn between her affection for an honourable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

Review:This is a pretty dark tale of humans and faeries interacting. Do not expect to see any Tinkerbelle’s here. Faeries are nasty, really nasty. They get pleasure out of human’s suffering and delight in torturing, killing and in some instance eating them. Though to be fair they do the same to their own as well. Val walks smack into the middle of this world completely clueless and falls deeper and deeper into trouble.

Valiant is the sequel to Tithe. It is set some time after the events of Tithe. However you do not need to read Tithe to read Valiant. Valiant is a stand alone story.

"There is only one human who knows this place. So what did Luis tell you?" The troll took another step toward them, his voice soft and furious."Did he dare you to go inside? Did he say there was a monster?"

The story touches on drug use, teenage sex, dysfunctional families, romance, loyalty and friendship. In fact there is very little Valiant does not touch on. I found the teen issues dealt with here were darker then that addressed in Tithe. However due to the “faerie” angle for some reason they were not as confronting then if this had been a normal runaway teen story. I don’t know why but for me it was not as shocking, but it still managed to
get the message across. Though having said that there was one moment for me
that did stun me but I will not mention it here so as not to spoil the book.

Holly Black has an easy style of writing that flows well. She is a good writer and was able to get her points across without me have to scrounge around for a dictionary.

If you like your faerie tales dark and edgy then you might want to consider picking up Holly Black. I am not sure why but I was reluctant to give this 4 out of 5 stars so I settled for 3 1/2.