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.

Hexed

Hexed by Michelle Krys, 2014 Delacorte Press

     Indigo Blackwood is the stereotypical high school cheerleader: cheer captain best friend Bianca, football captain boyfriend Devon, and part of a social circle capable of destroying anyone. The only thing keeping her from High School Royalty is her weird mom.
     Mrs. Blackwood believes she is a witch with real powers, she runs an occult shop in downtown Los Angeles; Indie has been raised to believe in her mother's conspiracy theories, despite what conventional wisdom and her general education say. And she is freakishly possessive of the ratty old family Bible.
     When several mysterious strangers appear in her life and the family Bible is stolen Indie's mother becomes neurotic. Indie meets super-sexy Bishop who explains her mother's crazy belief in witches, sorcerers, and other paranormal creatures aren't so crazy. While Mrs. Blackwood is not a witch, her mother was, and Indie very well could be one. But the big shocker is that the missing Bible is a list of all witches throughout the world and how they can be killed by a sorcerer.
     Indie must make the choice between living up to her popular lifestyle and following through on her promise to recover the book for her mother. Indie is plunged into the ancient war between witches and sorcerers with a minimal grasp of magic and little hope of success. Bishop tries to help Indie on her journey and to discover her destiny.
     Between dealing with betrayal from those closest to her and the search for the missing book Indie discovers something in herself which wants to protect what she has adopted as her own. Hexed is filled with teenaged angst laced with magic and hope. Older teens and young adult will enjoy Indie's journey from popular cheerleader to kick-butt crime-fighter.

Britannia All at Sea

Britannia All at Sea by Betty Neels, 1978 Harlequin

     When the important consulting doctor interrupts her supporting one of her nurses Staff Nurse Britannia Smith sends him back to the ward like a misbehaving child. Professor Jake Luitingh van Thien doesn't appear to like the Staff Nurse - while he is kind to the rest of the staff he is cold and shows no emotion to the splendidly built young woman. Despite his lack of encouragement Britannia decides she will marry him.
     She doesn't have much chance to nurture their romance when the Dutch professor returns to Holland. But when a close friend invites Britannia along on a visit with her godparents, Britannia accepts it as a sign from the Fates and joins. She has no definite plan to forward their relationship, but that doesn't stop Britannia from hoping.
      Britannia and her friend are surprised when the professor appears across their cycling path one day. When her friend accepts a proposal from a young man she meets at her godparents' Britannia is given the opportunity to spend more time with the doctor.
     Jake invites her to see his Dutch hospital and he and Britannia spend significant time together. Their association is progressing as Britannia hopes, until she meets Madeleine de Venz. Madeleine is beautiful and sophisticated, coming from the professor's background, and has plans to marry the rich and handsome doctor.
     The English nurse is swamped with feelings of inadequacy when she contemplates stepping between the professor and what she believes to be his best interests. Will Britannia marry her handsome doctor, or is the idea of love at first sight an illusion?
     We follow another of Betty Neels's nurses as she attempts to find love despite her own inclinations and her chosen man's temperament. Readers of all ages looking for clean romance will enjoy another of Neels's stories.

In the Hand of the Goddess

In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce, 1984 Atheneum

     Alanna has become squire to Prince Jonathan, one of few who know her secret. After several years working to become a knight and learning her lessons at the heir's side Alanna must face the risks of growing up surrounded by young men.
     When the Great Mother Goddess visits disguised Alanna during a mission she encourages the girl to stand up for her dream. With support for her dream to be a warrior, the Goddess reminds Alanna there is more to life than just adventure and suggests the young woman open herself to love.
     In the same meeting, Alanna creates a new friend in Faithful, a black cat with strange purple eyes. His eyes alarm or surprise everyone who sees Alanna with her new cat companion, but it is his magic which caused the Goddess to place Faithful with her chosen warrior. Faithful becomes Alanna's most trustworthy companion and protector.
     With the Ordeal looming and the memory of her friends' response to their experience in the solid room Alanna is uneasy. While she has learned to become a knight, she still struggles with the feminine arts. In disguise she goes to her friends in the City and asks the Rogue's mother to teach her to dress and move as a woman. Alanna even allows her friend Prince Jonathan to introduce her to the more adult pursuits to be found between woman and man. All the time worrying what their friends will say when she reveals her secret.
     Over the years Alanna still worries about the Duke of Conte and his intentions toward the royal family. Duke Roger remains suspicious, but any time Alanna tries to resolve her questions about the Prince's cousin something helps her lose interest and move on. Things don't add up, and it is on the wave of her successful knighthood that Alanna finds the strength and time to take action.
     Alanna's journey transitions from learning to be a boy, learning to fit into her role, developing the skill she will require to succeed to learning to be a woman, learning to risk more than physical danger, to pursue what she believes is right. Pierce hints at more than romance between Alana and Jonathan, though it isn't illustrated for the reader. In this second stage of her life Alanna's story is more suited to teen readers with deadly betrayal, complex romantic relationships, and a minor crisis of identity.

The Sin Eater's Daughter

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, 2015 Scholastic Press

     Once, long ago, the God of the Day and Goddess of the Night lived in tenuous harmony, but the Goddess seduced her daily counterpart and Night ruled the land; the crops died and life deteriorated under her rule. But her success in putting the Day to sleep resulted in a child: Daunen. Their daughter's pure song woke her father and brought balance into the world. Night and Day agreed that in times of great strife their daughter would return to Lormere as a beacon of hope.
     Seventeen-year-old Twylla has lived four years as Daunen Embodied, with her title comes great responsibility: her touch is poison. By the grace of the gods only the royal family can touch the young woman and she is trained as the court's executioner. At the palace Twylla is distanced from the court for her title and her power. She is betrothed to the prince, and is pleased her new destiny has taken her from her mother's place as the next Sin Eater.
     But the young woman is isolated, feared, and kept caged to the queen's beck and call. When her guard becomes strangely ill Twylla finds friendship with her one remaining guard: Lief. Lief is from a neighboring country and becomes more than simply a friend to Twylla. Though destined to marry Prince Merek, Twylla finds this new young man who dares to come close and brave her poisoned skin irresistible, even more so when he discovers everything she's lived for the last four years is a lie.
     Living in Lormere's spotlight as a feared weapon is not how the Sin Eater's daughter imagined her life at the palace, but with secrets coming out she discovers there may be a way to salvage the life Twylla dreamed of while still protecting the people's hope in Daunen Embodied.
     Blending mythology and fantasy The Sin Eater's Daughter is filled with power struggles, death and destruction. Twylla is trapped at the whim of a queen increasingly going mad. With Prince Merek and her guard, Lief, vying for attention Twylla struggles to find balance and a future. Her tale is more appropriate for mature readers with gruesome death and dangerous love triangles.