The Iron Trial

The Iron Trial
Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

My rating: ★★★

ISBN: 978-0545522250
Publisher: Scholastic
Date of publication: September 9, 2014
Age: Grades 5 - 8
Genre: Fantasy

Themes: elemental magic, good vs. evil, friendship, secrecy

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial and be accepted into the Magisterium, a prestigious school of magic. Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail. All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic and the school. So he tries his best to do his worst—and fails at failing. Now enrolled at the Magisterium, Call is shocked to discover how much he enjoys it. That is, until he discovers the secret his father has been hiding from him all along...

It's a bit of a dark and sinister book, but what else would you expect from Clare & Black? I mean, the villain in the book is called "The Enemy of Death." DunDun Dunnnn. But still, it took me a while to get through the book; it didn't grab me like I thought it would, and I'm not exactly sure why. Callum came off a tad annoying, because he comes off rather angry and selfish (which is understandable, given his past and hardships; it just didn't make him very likable). The story, on the whole, was good. There's a lot of mystery and excitement, and I'll admit, I didn't predict the ending. It was quite the surprise. So I'll leave it up to you, whether or not to read it.

Find it at your library or on Amazon