The Iron Trial

Cover for The Iron Trial
The main character in this middle grade fantasy adventure has a limp that's realistically present yet never overtakes the story — a delicate balance.

The Iron Trial
US | UK

From the imaginations of bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare comes a heart-stopping plunge into the magical unknown.

Think you know magic?

Think again.

The Magisterium awaits . . .

Most people would do anything to get into the Magisterium and pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt.

Call has been told his whole life that he should never trust a magician. And so he tries his best to do his worst – but fails at failing.

Now he must enter the Magisterium. It’s a place that’s both sensational and sinister. And Call realizes it has dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning. Call’s biggest test is still to come . . .

Practical information

Authors: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Penguin Random House (Corgi)
Publication year: 2015
ISBN: 9780552567732
Age category: middle grade
Disability portrayed: limp
Genre: fantasy

Accessible formats


audiobook available

Authors

Holly Black

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.

I think that we as writers have an obligation to tell the truth about the world — and diverse world is a true world. I also think that we have to be conscious of which stories are ours to tell, which stories we have points of identification with and which stories we need to do more work if we want tell responsibly. There is a very well respected workshop on “writing the other,” run by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward; resources exist to bridge those gaps in our knowledge and experience. We have to be thoughtful, but we have to try.
(Diversity in YA, April 2011)
Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Chain of Gold as well as the internationally bestselling Dark Artifices trilogy, Mortal Instruments series, and Infernal Devices trilogy. She is the coauthor of the Eldest Curses series with Wesley Chu; The Bane Chronicles with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson; Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman; and Ghosts of the Shadow Market with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link, and Robin Wasserman. Her books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages and made into a feature film and a TV show. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her at CassandraClare.com. Learn more about the world of the Shadowhunters at Shadowhunters.com.

[W]hat gets me worried about it sometimes is when people refer to [diversity in fiction] as a trend, because to me, a trend is something that passes, you know, it’s like saying “there’s a trend for red sneakers” or something and I’m like hopefully this isn’t a trend, hopefully this is a direction and that direction will continue.
(Gist, April 2019)

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Cover for The Iron Trial
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Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

by

While Call’s disability informs his character, it’s hardly the focus of the story, and I appreciated that. What I liked even more was the way Black and Clare treated Call’s disability when they did mention it.