A School for Sorcery
E. Rose Sabin
Starscape
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: It was only a hundred or so years ago that magic was brought back to the land of Arucadi, a land already permeated with electricity and those new
contraptions called automobiles. Most people still view the gifted with distrust. Tria's mother was magically gifted, but never had the opportunity to develop her skills,
married off to a superstitious farmer and forced into the role of farmer's wife. Now, sixteen-year-old Tria Tesserell has a chance to escape her rural home and explore her
own talent at the prestigious Lesley Simonton School for the Magically Gifted. The brochure promises golden buildings, gleaming halls, and throngs students who - like Tria -
have the gift. Upon arrival, she finds a crumbling schoolhouse, dusty halls that clearly have seen better days, and a pitiful handful of peculiar students... but looks, as
she soon learns, can be deceiving.
Among magicians, it is said that when a door opens for you, you must go through it. The weathered doors of the Lesley Simonton School lead to wonders and dangers beyond Tria's
wildest dreams.
REVIEW: Don't be fooled by the vaguely similar premise of a magical school. This is no Hogwarts knock-off, nor is Tria a female Harry Potter. Magic is a serious art here, with none of the whimsical touches Rowling puts on her lessons. The world reminded me vaguely of Arcanum, my favorite RPG game/universe, with its steampunk-like mixture of ancient magic and turn-of-the-century science forced into uneasy coexistence. Tria and her classmates are not predictable or cardboard characters. Her own power is as much a temptation as it is a gift, terrifying her with its strength and unpredictability as much as it fascinates her. The story takes some dark and sudden turns, and Tria makes serious mistakes that must later be reckoned with. The final chapters require especially close attention, as the tale splits into parallel action. There is a solid enough premise here for future books.
You might also enjoy:
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Forbidden Mind (Kimberly Kinrade, YA Fiction - A telepathic teen girl in a secret school learns what really happens after her classmates "graduate")
Dreamhunter (Elizabeth Knox, YA Fiction - A teen girl learns to capture dreams in an alternate turn-of-the-century world)
The Earthsea Cycle (Ursula K. LeGuin, YA Fiction - A young boy grows to be a powerful wizard)
The Airborn books (Kenneth Oppel, YA Fiction - A boy lives a world of massive airships and grand adventure)
The Circle of Magic quartet (Tamora Pierce, YA Fiction - Four gifted children learn to use their peculiar, powerful talents)
The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman, YA? Fiction - A girl in an alternate, steampunk-like Earth discovers a dark secret and darker conspiracy)
The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - An orphaned boy learns of his magical powers and the hidden wizarding world)
A College of Magics (Caroline Stevermer, YA Fiction - The teen heiress to a small duchy is shipped off to a magical college, where her blood rival awaits)
The War of the Flowers (Tad Williams, Fantasy - A drifting musician is kidnapped into the fairy world, where magic parallels technology)
Mairelon the Magician (Patricia Wrede, YA Fiction - A girl thief in elder-day London discovers that a street magician possesses real magic)
Wizard's Hall (Jane Yolen, YA Fiction - A boy of dubious talent enrolls at a wizard's school)
The Young Merlin trilogy (Jane Yolen, YA Fiction - The wizard Merlin's youth, from a wild-born boy to his meeting with the child Artur)
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