The Iron Trial

Magisterium: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, 2014 Scholastic Press

     In the ice beside his mother's dead body are the words "Kill the child". Callum Hunt's father ignores his dead wife's last words to raise Call in a small North Carolina town. Alistair Hunt spends Call's childhood teaching him to hate and fear magic and mages.
     When the time comes for Call to be tested for entry into the Magisterium, a sort of academy where talented children are taught to control and use their magic. Call does his best to fail the test but Master Rufus (the most prestigious Master at the Iron Trial) sees beyond Call's desire to fail and avoid the terrible fate he believes is waiting. Master Rufus accepts Call as one of his apprentices.
     Call joins Aaron and Tamaka as Rufus's apprentices. At the Magisterium the trio share an apartment and attend lessons together. Call discovers a place for himself and friends, a new experience for the kid with a limp which prevents easy movement. The friends learn about the mage wars and Makaris who can control Chaos magic. The Enemy poses the greatest threat to the Magisterium, as a Makar only another Makar can stop him and when Aaron shows himself one of the Makaris the Magisterium has been waiting for, Call and Tamaka are proud for their friend. But on the heels of their pride comes worry for Aaron's well-being. When he goes missing after taking their pet chaos wolf-pup for his daily constitutional, Tamaka and Call know something more dangerous than mere minions has come along.
     Callum faces the Enemy's closest advisor and companion who suggest the impossible. With more to consider than simply his lessons Call returns to the academy for his final portion of the Iron Trial and his first year.
     Call Hunt grows over his first year as he discovers a joy in the work his father has always despised. Call feels guilt at enjoying this place which his father has always warned against. But at the Magisterium Call finds new friends and a place to belong. Aimed at Middle and younger teen readers Iron Year is a fantasy similar to the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series.