The Iron Trial : Book One of Magisterium

This middle grade fantasy book reminds me a lot of Harry Potter. The main character Call is summoned to attend the entrance exams for The Magisterium, a more-sinister version of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, and he promises his father he will fail the test on purpose to avoid the dangerous magic school. Unfortunately, magic is in Call's blood, and though his permanent limp and sarcastic attitude do not appear to serve him well during testing, he is selected with two other "Iron Years" to be a pupil of the greatest mage of all, Master Rufus. I really enjoyed this book! It was magic in a more fun, kid friendly form.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a first book in a series so that is always a good way to encourage continued reading. It reminded me of a tie between Harry Potter and Percy Jackson stories. It is definitely a modern fantasy book. It has elements of realistic fiction and YA also because it explores the relationship of the kids to the parents.

All his life, Callum Hunt is told by his father that magic is evil. In fact, magic is the reason his mother died. So when Callum, called Call, turns twelve he learns that unfortunately he has inherited his parent's ability for magic. Now he must attend the Iron Trial, a series of test, to determine if he is allowed to attend the Magisterium. His father tells Call to fail the tests because it's the only way he will be safe. On the day of the test, Call hilariously fails all of them. He relaxes seeing that he came in last. As the ceremony inducting new mages starts he hears his named called and learns he still must attend the school. There is no way around it. Once Call enters the school he falls in love with magic despite his father's warning and even begins to question the things his father has told him. The rest of the book follows Call and his classmates as they learns about magic, the mage war and an evil mage call The Enemy of Death.

I know that a lot of people are disappointed in this book because they feel like it's too similar to Harry Potter. I get that. I felt like that at first as well... boy whose mother dies fighting a magical evil, ends up in a Mage school where he finds friends and acceptance for the first time. His two best friends are a boy and a girl. The first third to half of the book started to feel like it was really predictable, but then things started to change when Cal doesn't turn out to the "Chosen One" (like Harry) but his roommate Aaron. Plus there are mysteries surrounding Cal that don't seem to make sense until more of the story unfolds. We see Cal's loyalty to his friends, the beginnings of trust and true caring between them, his kindness with Havoc and his determination to the right thing and stand by his friends and his Master and the Magisterium itself. But then, the last little bit of the book really changed everything about it being similar to Harry Potter for me because Harry never had to face the kind of dilemma that Cal has to face, a dilemma that threatens everything he cares about in his life and questions whether people are born good or evil or destined to be, and how much does ones experiences in life change the core of who they are. I think people are giving this book too rough of a time without considering that the way it plays out changes it dramatically from Harry Potter and the types of things Harry had to struggle with compared to Cal. Give it a chance with an open mind. I enjoyed it very much and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Callum finds himself enrolled in the Magisterium, despite the objection from his dad. Call's mother was killed in a battle when he was just a baby and he had a serious leg injury. He finds himself working with Aaron and Tamara, a friendship slowly forms. A quick read.