Magisterium: The Iron Trial
by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare (Scholastic, 2014); audiobook read by Paul Boehmer (Bolinda, 2014)
Some surprises on a micro level but the plot as a whole is blandly predictable. The characters are the usual one-trick ponies and Black and Clare play fast and loose with how long it takes events to happen outside of Call’s viewpoint.
Doll Bones
by Holly Black (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013); audiobook read by Nick Podehl (Random House, 2013)
A magic-realism quest fantasy marking the reluctant coming-of-age of three YA protagonists still clinging to the storytelling adventures they shared in MG. A markedly downbeat tale, its speculative element minimal to match the floundering ineffectualness of imaginations pitted against the real world.
The Spiderwick Chronicles, Books 1-5
by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (Simon & Schuster, 2003-2004)
audiobooks read by Mark Hamill (Random House Audio)
A middle-grade series about magical creatures and sibling relationships. Each individual book is quite slight but when read together they build into something of a page-turner. The audiobook editions afford an appropriate outlet for Mark Hamill’s characteristic, slightly whiny intonation of dialogue.