Review: The Iron Trial

Book one of the Magisterium
By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Available now from Scholastic
Review copy

Callum Hunt's father has been training him his whole life for the test to enter the Magisterium - training him to fail, that is.  His mother was killed by one of the many wars the Magisterium was involved in, and Call's father determined to protect him from their sinister machinations.  But Call can't hide.

I am a huge fan of Holly Black, and Cassandra Clare usually manages to be entertaining.  Thus I had mixed but high hopes for THE IRON TRIAL.  And, after reading THE IRON TRIAL, "mixed" sums up my reaction pretty well.

I am a sucker for magic school stories.  There's something wonderful about that particular combination of the fantastic and the mundane.  The almost-failed-the-test Call is put into the same group as two high achievers: Aaron and Tamara.  Together, they sort sand.  Yeah, their magic lessons take awhile to get really interesting.  I did like the way Black and Clare showed that magic was work and shortcuts could go horribly awry.  I also liked the relationship between the three students, which develops pretty naturally.  (I didn't like that by the end of THE IRON TRIAL Aaron and Call had both developed special powers and Tamara hadn't.)

My main issue with THE IRON TRIAL is that Call acts incredibly guileless for someone who has been warned about the Magisterium his entire life.  He starts off telling the other students his suspicions, but he quickly falls into the patterns of school life and never thinks that anything that happens is sinister.  Perhaps his father could've gone into more depth about why Call should be wary, even though his father only has small pieces of the whole picture.

Fans of Harry Potter will enjoy the magic school story as well as the central friendship.  (THE IRON TRIAL doesn't do as much to distinguish itself from Harry Potter as it could, honestly.  Perhaps THE COPPER GAUNTLET will diverge farther.)  Fans of Percy Jackson will enjoy the diverse cast.  THE IRON TRIAL is a fun little read for young fantasy fans, but there's little to distinguish it from the current crop of middle grade fantasy.

Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

By Holly Black
Available now from Little, Brown BFYR (Hachette)
Review copy
Read my reviews of White Cat, Red Glove, and Geektastic

"…for the contingent out there who sneer at heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman and Captain America, those icons who still, at their core, represent selfless sacrifice for the greater good, and who justify their contempt by saying, oh, it’s so unrealistic, no one would ever be so noble… grow up. Seriously. Cynicism is not maturity, do not mistake the one for the other. If you truly cannot accept a story where someone does the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, that says far more about who you are than these characters." - Greg Rucka

When Tana wakes up in the bathroom after a party, her main worry is embarrassment.  Then she reaches the living room and discovers that everyone else who attended the party is dead, murdered by vampires.  The only other survivor is her ex-boyfriend, tied up in a bedroom with a chained vampire.  It's up to Tana to save herself and the boys before the sun sets.  But what to do then?

I read Jen Ryland's review while I was reading THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, and I think she has what makes this book so great dead on.  Tana does the right thing because it's the right thing, and it sends her life into utter craziness.  But in the end she's rewarded for her actions, for her determination to save as many people as possible.  The world of THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN is dark and scary, but not grim.  Nobility of spirit can stand against the monster within and without.

Look, I think Tana is just great all around.  She's not the most secure girl - she's done things she was uncomfortable with just to impress a boy - or the cleverest - she's more act first, plan later.  But she's brave, and loyal, and composed to a fault.  And even if I didn't like Tana, I'd be in love with this world.  Of course vampires are celebrities, despite their pesky habit of killing humans.  Of course people blog about it and become minor celebrities in turn.  You cannot accuse Holly Black of being out of step with modern technology.  She combines vampires and cell phones in all the best ways.

The relationships in this novel are also delicious.  Tana still has feelings for her ex, that selfish, silly, sweet boy.  She's drawn to Gavriel, the vampire, who is hot, more than a little crazy, but who listens to her and tries to play by her rules.  Then there are the two traveling companions they come upon, who are clearly doomed, but still worthy of Tana's attempts at protection.

If you've ever enjoyed a vampire story, give THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN a chance.  Black has made the vampire hot again.

Review: Red Glove

By Holly Black
Available now from Simon & Schuster
Review copy
Read my review of WHITE CAT

Cassel Sharpe and his friends return in the second installment of the Curse Workers series. This time, the mysteries afoot are ones Cassel has already solved. (Or mostly solved.) The Feds want Cassel to find out who Zacharov's wetworks man is. They're interested in one murder in particular, one that Cassel has a personal interest in. He needs to give them an answer, not just to protect himself, but also to protect their number one suspect and his love interest: Lila.

I loved RED GLOVE as much as I loved WHITE CAT. I was pleased to see that most of the book took place at Cassel's snooty private school. I loved his friends and their willingness to help him out at WHITE CAT's denoument. They also prove that Cassel doesn't have a monopoly on secrets. One of them is hiding something rather important, in fact. (Do you know how hard it is to review a book about cons? I'm afraid to give away any information in case it's too much information.)

Also like WHITE CAT, Holly Black ripped my heart out just as I thought everything was going to turn out perfectly. This time the heart-ripping was tempered by a bit of, "Okay, that was your fault, Cassel." Still, this series better end happy. Cassel is earning his happy ending.

Cassel has more control of events in RED GLOVE. He's not scrambling around trying to find out what's going on. He's trying to figure out how to handle the various people who want control of him. (That group includes the Feds, Zacharov, and a rival crime family.)

If you didn't like WHITE CAT, you probably won't like RED GLOVE. The characters haven't fundamentally changed. Cassel will never be entirely a good guy. Lila will never be a good girl. I love the world Black has created, where every magic user has few opportunities aside from crime. I like the discussions of workers' rights. I like the crazy plots.

But why does Black insist on ripping my heart out at the end every time?

Review: White Cat

By Holly Black
Available now from Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon and Schuster)
Review copy



Clever as the devil and twice as pretty.

I love Holly Black's Modern Tales of Faerie, so I was ridiculously excited when the first book of The Curse Workers showed up at my door. Fortunately, Black delivered a fast and clever story. (She did, however, use the ending to rip out my heart and grind it with a stiletto heel. Why do I not have the second book already to ease the ache in my soul?)

Cassel Sharpe lives in a world where some people - known as curse workers - can use an ability on you if they just touch you with their hands. His grandfather, in fact, can kill you that way. Generally, people don't take their gloves off. While Cassel himself is powerless, he comes from a talented family that uses their abilities to run cons. One night, Cassel wakes up on the roof of his dorm, chasing a white cat. He's removed from the dorm and sent to live with his family, where he quickly realizes his brothers Phillip and Anton are up to something.

For all that the family dynamics are strange - the mother is in jail, Phillip's wife is forgetful, and you can't quite tell whose side Grandad is on, it works. These are the people Cassel grew up with, and it shows in his personality and tactics. It's just part of the tight, coherent tapestry that Black weaves in WHITE CAT.

I love the world Black has created. It's just as dangerous as her interpretation of faerie, and Cassel needs his wits in order to survive in it. I adore the flashbacks to his relationship with Lila - his best friend, whom he killed three years ago. It's extremely sexy, in a kinky sort of way. (Not that I think the younger kids who read WHITE CAT will pick up on that.)

Pretty much, WHITE CAT has it all. A varied cast of interesting characters (including Cassel's school friends), an intriguing world, and a twisted plot that just keeps moving faster and faster until the ridiculously cool denoument. Black took full control of my emotions right up until the aforementioned ending where she ripped out my heart. But, since she's as evil as some of her characters, she made it feel good.

Also, check out the trailer by the talented Vania. The ending of the trailer is less heart-wrenching, but shows that it's criminal they covered up the model's face with the title treatment.

Review: Geektastic and So Punk Rock

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd
Edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci



Stories by John Green, M.T. Anderson, Kelly Link, Cassandra Clare, Greg and Cynthia Leitich Smith, Kelly Link, Libba Bray, Tracy Lynn, David Levithan, Barry Lyga, Garth Nix, Wendy Mass, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr
Illustrations by Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley

Why does something I loved this much feel like such a misfire? This book contains stories for every kind of geek: lj RP, cosplay, D&D, Buffy, and more. For pan-fandom geeks, it's a godsend. Like any short story collection I loved some more than others, but the writing was generally strong.

However, I felt like I relied on the knowledge I've learned from seven or so years as a Queen of Nerds (ask me for my credentials). GEEKTASTIC is not inclusive. I think most people without geeky or nerdy inclinations will be left behind. And I hate to admit it, but geeks are the minority. (I could be wrong. As I said, I'm a knowledgeable audience. This is pure extrapolation.)

I hope there is a huge audience for GEEKTASTIC. It's a celebration of subculture. Who wants to be mainstream when having a hobby can be so rewarding? And these authors have a sizeable following for a reason - and I know some of their fanbases are pretty nerdy.

If you're a geek, do yourself a favor and pick up GEEKTASTIC. It's hard to choose a favorite, but it might be "Quiz Bowl Antichrist" by David Levithan, which brought back days of junior high Whiz Quiz and organizing my high school's St. Jude's Trivia Challenge.

So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother)



By Micol Ostow
Illustrations by David Ostow

Which brings me to a book to which I am an outsider to the culture presented. Most of what I know comes from reading the Old Testament and talking to my friend at Girls State who had trouble with the meals. (Apparently you can only have one dairy item with a meal, which is difficult when everything has cheese on it.)

Ari Abramson knows who he is. He just doesn't know how to reveal that person to others. So he convinces his friend Jonas Fein, geeky Yossi, and Yossi's sister Reena to start a band. Though they start out not knowing how to play their instruments, pretty soon they're a MySpace sensation with a real gig. Of course, they still have SATs, parents, and holy days to worry about. It doesn't help that Jonas is kind of a jerk.

SO PUNK ROCK is a quick read that manages to share a great deal about being Jewish-American without bogging down the proceedings. There's a great glossary in the back, but I didn't need to use it while reading.

I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of standard prose with graphic novel sections. It makes you wonder whether the comics are supposed to be a representation of Ari's work or if Ari's work is totally different and they simply represent how he thinks. SO PUNK ROCK continues Flux's history of rocking my socks. It doesn't hurt Micol Ostow's track record with me either.