The Iron Trial : Magisterium Book One by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Callum Hunt wants to fail the Iron Trials. He wants nothing to do with magic, nothing to do with the mages, nothing to do with being a student at the Magisterium, just as his father taught him. But, of course, that is not his fate. Because sometimes magic is more powerful than the people who control it. Especially when that person is just a teenager with a bum leg.

The Iron Trials–a test to get into The Magisterium–are just the beginning of this great collaboration by two favorite authors–Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. You know they’re going to give you a good story and they do. The book starts out looking like a twist on Harry Potter, but soon veers off on its own path, complete with multiple twists and turns, both literal and figurative. You will quickly fall under the spell of this new series as Callum learns not only how to handle magic but also the meaning of friendship, loyalty and honor. And, in the end… well you’ll just have to read the ending yourself. But remember … chaos wants to devour…

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Fantasy/Magic

Watch the book trailer!

Find The Iron Trial in the BEHS Library.

Review by Ms. Bing

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The Finisher by David Baldacci

Vega Jane lives in the tiny village of Wormwood with all the other Wugmorts, taking care of her younger brother and working at Stacks where she’s a “finisher” of pretty objects that are shipped off to who knows where. It’s not the worst life in the world. She has her job, her best friend Delph and her brother. She’s making it all work. Until, suddenly, she isn’t.

The unraveling of her ordinary life begins when she sees her boss Quentin being chased by attack dogs and running into the Quag, the deep mysterious woods that circles their town. No one goes into the Quag. If they do, they don’t come out. Then Vega Jane herself gets chased by attack dogs. Next comes a map to the Quag, apparently left for her by Quentin. All of a sudden, life starts to get really interesting. Nothing is as it seems anymore; perhaps it never was. It gets Vega Jane thinking about what her grandfather told her long ago before he suffered his “event”: “The most bitterly awful place of all is one that Wugmorts don’t know is as wrong as wrong can possibly be.” She never knew what that meant and she still doesn’t, but she’s pretty sure all these strange, dangerous happenings have something to do with figuring it out.

You will quickly get pulled into this rich fantasy world of Vega Jane’s as Wormwood slowly evolves from a grim, ordinary existence into a strange, mysterious magical place. The plot twists aren’t predictable and the magic enters the story in bits and pieces as Vega Jane tries to unravel the mystery of who Wugmorts really are, what Wormwood really is, and most importantly, how will she stay alive long enough to figure it all out. An excellent, fun read that will leave you impatient for the the sequel.

Rating: 5 stars!

Genre: Fantasy/Magic

Watch the trailer!

Find The Finisher in the BEHS Library.

Reviewed by Ms. Bing