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've had this book for a really long time and honestly a middle grade book has to be really good for me to like it. Often times I feel like I can't relate to the characters, I get bored by their interactions with each other, and the plot often falls flat for me. Now, I was a little bored with The Iron Trial for the first 40 pages or so but after that I truly loved it. Holly Black is one of my all time favorite authors and if you haven't read The Darkest Part of the Forest or The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, I highly recommend them both to you.
"Fire wants to burn
Water wants to flow
Air wants to rise
Earth wants to bind
Chaos wants to devour"
"They all yelled in excitement. Tamara yelled because she was happy. Aaron yelled because he liked
To be completely honest, this was a very awesome book for middle grade. I always have a hard time getting into mg novels, but this wasn't as bad as most. I'd recommend this book if you like to read mg novels. If you really can't stand them and the character development in them, I don't think this book will change your mind. I heard this series was actually optioned for a movie, I'm not sure how well it will work as a movie. However, I did really love the plot and there were a lot of exciting twists and turns. I don't blame people who compare this to Harry Potter, but I don't think it's fair to shrug this book off as fan fic. I will definitely be continuing with the series - and I'm excited to see where it goes from here.
- Jocelyn
I like the sound of this one. I just wasn't sure if it was right for my age, and you mentioned Middle Grade. So I'm skipping this one, the cover kind of said as much.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if you don't like mg at all - I don't think this will be a big mind changer for you. Someone should make a YA or NA magic school book! haha
DeleteGreat review! I've had an eye on this book for a while but I wasn't sure as it's MG and I have a bit of an iffy time with them too. It sounds like this one might be worth a chance though!
ReplyDelete-- Nicola Reads YA
Thank you! I am the same, I'm very very picky with middle grades! This one is a great middle grade, though! You should give it a try!
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed this book! This is definitely a great middle school book, and I loved it! It's unpredictable, and the world was so vivid! Great review :)
ReplyDelete~Erika @ Books, Stars, Writing. And Everything In Between.
Thanks! And I thought so too. I was very surprised that it was so unpredictable but then again Holly Black is amazing with unpredictable books! :)
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