Book Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Caught Read Handed

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare was my second read of Bout of Books 12, and I quite enjoyed it.

Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Genre: Middle grade/young adult, fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: September 9, 2014

299 pages, hardcover

Call’s father has always told him to stay away from magic, that magic is what killed his mother, and so unlike the other kids at the Iron Trial, he wants to fail. Unfortunately, one of the teachers at the Magisterium, Master Rufus, sees something in him, and suddenly Callum Hunt is somewhere he’s been warned will kill him.

If you want to see how I would describe The Iron Trial in pictures, check out my challenge post from Bout of Books.

I think my favorite part of this book was Call. He’s not your average protagonist. He’s kind of a jerk (seems like I like jerk main characters. Remember my review of Firecracker?). He’s abrasive, insubordinate, says the wrong things, and pushes people away when they try to befriend him. It takes a little while to understand him and why he does this, but once you do, you can’t help but care for him.

A lot of people have compared (or criticized) this book to Harry Potter – there’s a young boy who goes to magic school, befriends another boy and girl, and has to fight an evil wizard. Okay, yes, those are indeed very similar to HP, BUT The Iron Trial is also unique. The magic is probably the main way it’s different – mages use the elements to create and change and destroy. The focus is on nature and the elements, which is really cool. There are creatures called elementals who’ve been consumed by their element, and chaos-ridden animals and people who have a piece of the void inside them. I’m not going into the whole Clare debate blah blah blah. I liked the magic, characters, and ideas, and that’s what matters.

I felt that Call’s friends – Tamara and Aaron – as well as the other characters were well-developed and full. On the other hand, I think there were a few too many minor characters and I would constantly be confused which character was doing what.

One last thing: No one, and I mean NO ONE, will see that twist coming at the end. It was wholly unexpected, a crazy twist that was both awesome and strange. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.

The bottom line: The Iron Trial is a fun, unique take on magic school and child wizards. I had a few issues (too many minor characters; middle that was a little drawn out), but I enjoyed it overall. I loved the main character and the world that Holly Black and Cassandra Clare have created.

Rating: 8 – freaking fantastic

Have you read The Iron Trial? What did you think?

Bout of Books “Describe Your Book in Pictures” Challenge

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Caught Read Handed

It’s Day 5 of Bout of Books 12! TGIF – because it means I can read ALL WEEKEND!! Wooooo. Alright, anyway, today The Book Monsters are hosting the “Describe Your Book in Pictures” Challenge. You can use the book you’re currently reading or take a book you’ve already read. Either way, choose a book and find some pictures that describe it. Fun AND easy, right? Check out the challenge if you want to participate too!

I’ve just finished reading The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, so I’ve used that for my challenge. I’ve only included four pictures, none of which are spoiler-y, so no worries!

Here’s The Iron Trial in pictures:

Have you read The Iron Trial? Think my pictures work? Link me to your challenge if you participated so I can see!

WWW Wednesday [10] – My true love gave to me embarrassing true stories

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Caught Read Handed

WWW Wednesdays are hosted by Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three questions: (As always, all titles are linked to their corresponding Goodreads pages)

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading one story a day from My True Love Gave to Me (so far I’ve reviewed Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights”, “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link, and Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow” and Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me”. I’m also starting my reread of Maggie Stiefvater’s Linger today. I tried to do it as an audiobook like I did with Shiver, but the copy I checked out from the library skipped too much. 😦 It’s perfect weather to reread these books.

What did you recently finish reading?

Yesterday, I finished We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story by Josh Sundquist. It was pretty funny and very, very honest – to the point where you almost feel as embarrassed as he does. I related to it a lot, in ways that I’ll discuss in my review on Friday.

What do you think you’ll read next?

After I finish Linger (which should be by Friday), I believe I am going to read The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. I have a few others checked out from the library that I’d like to read, and I also got The Winner’s Curse and several other books from my Belles’ Enchanted Book Exchange partner that I want to dig in to, so I’m not 100% sure what I’ll read. I’ll see what jumps off my shelf after I finish Linger.