The Iron Trial

Author: Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Adventure.

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Year: 2014

Ranking: 4.3/ 5

  
Synopsis

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 . . .

The Authors

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black are two American writers. Holly is the bestselling author and co-creator of the Spiderwick Chronicles series and won a Newbery Honor for her novel Doll Bones. Cassandra is the author of bestselling YA series, including The Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices. They both live in Western Massachusetts, about ten minutes away from each other. This is their first collaboration, and marks the start of a five book series.

Personal Experience with This Book

The reason why I decided to read this book was because many people were comparing it to Harry Potter. Harry Potter is my favorite series of books of all time and I thought if this series was similar to Harry Potter, I would like it very much. Now, The Iron Trial is unlike ANYTHING Harry Potter. I discovered that as I read it.

We do have a trio of friends and we have a school of magic. However, these three characters are completely different than the three main characters in Harry Potter, and also the Magisterium has no resemblance with Hogwarts. Having clarified these points I will continue to do my review of the book.

First of all, I want to highlight the writing of both authors. Both have that way to catch the reader and give you the information slowly so you do not feel overwhelmed when reading about the world that you are being presented to. Plus, it’s impossible to know who wrote each chapter. The way how the two styles do not let the reader see the differences between one and the other seemed really interesting to me.

As to the Magisterium and the magic system I can say that I found it different and mysterious. I think it's great that the magic is based on the elements of nature, chaos adding. Also, I loved that the premise of the school was teaching by Master-apprentices relations because it gives a special touch to the lessons. It makes much more personal and having a master-apprentice relationship can be crucial in the future.

I liked the three main characters a lot too. Call is the one who tells the story so we get to know him better than the other two. I had a problem at the beggining to connect with Tamara, I found her very irritating as Call so... because he disliked her I disliked her too. Aaron seemed to me as the cutest kid in the world. I think this guy is good to anyone who reads about him. Honestly, all three at the end of the book seemed great and I think the development of their friendship became great because they became friends very slowly as the story progressed while, sharing classes with master Rufus.

The story ... What can I say about it? It is not what it seems. I was completely surprised with how the last chapters were given ... I talk about the past 7 or 8 chapters. Because at beginning the story focus on how Call enters school, as is - but cannot - do not pass his trial and how it will gradually adapt to his new life. We can also see many special things about him. However, what happens at the end is not anything that one would expect. I loved it and I will definitely keep reading the story.