So much for our happy ending -- because just because the bad guy was last seen being sent into the void doesn't mean he actually stayed there. School is back in session, but our trio isn't done with their mission. Holly Black and Cassandra Clare team up one last time for the last, fifth, explosive conclusion to the Magisterium series, The Golden Tower. With a thrilling revelation, a humorous cast of characters dedicated to growth, and (yes!) a happy ending, Black and Clare explore the gritty themes of good vs. evil, chaos vs. soul, and who truly prevails -- don't miss this exhilarating conclusion to the middle grade series that has raised the bar for all middle grade series. Holly Black and Cassandra Clare first met over ten years ago at Holly's first-ever book signing. They have since become good friends, bonding over (among other things) their shared love of fantasy. With Magisterium, they decided to team up to write their own story about heroes and villains, good and evil, and being chosen for greatness, whether you like it or not. Holly is the bestselling author and co-creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles series and won a Newbery Honor for her novel Doll Bones. She recently finished The Folk of the Air series, and you can find my reviews of those here. Cassie is the author of bestselling YA series, including The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, and The Last Hours. They both live in Western Massachusetts, about ten minutes away from each other. This is their first collaboration, and marks the start of a five-book series. If you're interested in more of my reviews of Holly Black's work, you can find them all here. If you're interested in more of my reviews of Cassandra Clare's work, you can find them all here.
Callum Hunt has been a hero and an outcast, a force of good and a portent of evil. While the doors of the Magisterium have been open to him, he has never felt entirely welcome. If anything, he has felt others' resentment . . . and fear. Now, as he begins his final year at the magical school, his place is less certain than ever. With one unique exception, he is estranged from most of his friends. A furtive darkness still hounds him. And the greatest challenge he will ever face is right around the corner.
After being completely devastated by Aaron's death in The Bronze Key and then totally thrown off-guard by Aaron's resurrection and renewed death in The Silver Mask, it was so much fun to see Aaron interacting with Call inside Call's head! The humor of Aaron being inside Call's head and "thinking" with Call caused me to smile countless times. It also helped Call realize who he is, and what he's capable of. Identity is such a strong theme throughout this series, and identity isn't always physical. Take Aaron, who has an incorporeal existence, but is very clearly Aaron in Call's head, and speaks and makes decisions in a specific way separate from Call's. I truly enjoyed that exploration of identity through physicality, specifically because Black and Clare do focus on the physicality of Call's body often throughout the series (such as Call's leg, or whether or not Call is Call because Constantine's soul is in his body). Identity and soul are such loaded topics. They can be really hard to break down, especially in middle grade fantasy, in a way that young readers can apply to their every day lives. By having this specific, fleshed-out idea of how the story will advance and what Call and Aaron will learn about themselves, young readers can indirectly take all these ideas away -- and older readers can begin to truly appreciate the layered complexity in middle grade fantasy.
In my review of The Silver Mask, I talked about how exciting it was to be "off-campus" by exploring other parts of the mage world. I expressed a desire to see even more of the mage world in The Golden Tower, but it soon became clear that that would not be the case. Instead, Call returns to the Magisterium for his last year -- and, I found that I liked this return much better. There were a lot of parallels to having Call return to school for the last year, changed and yet completely the same person. I also thought it made more sense for Call to fight for the mage world at the one site of the mage world he truly loved: the Magisterium. It was also exhilarating to read how Call, Tamara, and Jasper would find out about Alex and plan what they were going to do if they were "stuck in the caves", so to speak. Having the characters go back to school gave readers a better understanding for what kind of world Call was actually fighting for, which is a pretty powerful motif to create for the series finale. Returning to school felt necessary, nostalgic, and powerful -- while I really hoped to see more of the mage world, I feel like Black and Clare made the best choice by ending it where it all began.
Call and Tamara started having a semblance of A Relationship in The Silver Mask, which I enjoyed and commented on in my review of that book. In this book, the relationship seems to go a bit further, but is always interrupted by either Aaron's being in Call's head, Call's doubts, or the general "world-is-ending" scenario. The romance between the pair was truly poignant and adorable, and you couldn't help but root for them because it seemed like one of the things in Call's life that could go right for him. It also stood in contrast with his "saving-the-world" bit, and grounded Call to readers in making him more relatable. I also enjoyed how while the romance felt rushed at points (it didn't truly start to develop until the fourth book, and they shared "I love you"s at the end of the fifth book), I liked how the authors didn't set this romance up to be the highlight of the rest of their lives. Meaning, just because it felt rushed (like teenage relationships actually sometimes are), the authors didn't give readers any reason to assume Call and Tamara would always be coupled together, living happily ever after. The authors didn't set unrealistic expectations, or make promises for a future we don't know exists or not for Call and Tamara. I appreciated that a lot as a portrayal of love and friendship for these characters.
A lot of how all the pieces came together for this book hinted at the immense planning Black and Clare must have done early on -- clearly, they had a vision for this series, and spent a lot of time getting it there. There were a lot of shocking reveals and twists in The Silver Mask, but there was more self-reflection and destiny-taking in The Golden Tower that made it the satisfying finale it was. Some choices, though, I was confused about -- like, why put Jasper and Gwenda in Master Rufus's apprentice group, and make Gwenda a bit of a bigger character when she actually didn't need to be? Why have Alastair become a Devoured when there was literally a whole "gallery" of Devoured within the school? And why did all the biggest reveals of Call's soul not get more time to be examined and talked about with his friends? While the plot itself felt very fleshed-out, these were some questions I just couldn't help but ask myself. The way they were dealt with in the book felt very logistical -- as in, the authors/editors made decisions because the pieces fell into place correctly. But to me, it felt rushed, and not as well-executed as the other books in the series. I think it all turned out satisfying, and in a way that made me feel sad to say goodbye to all these characters, but I also know that these questions can be haunting.
Nonetheless, I loved the ending, the last line, and the poetic justice of it all. At first, I couldn't believe the entire series was over with that last sentence, and I almost felt robbed. After a moment's reflection, though, I realized that it was truly commentary on how if you wish to be good, you have to keep working at it. Your life can't just be defined by this one great thing you achieved when you were sixteen. To truly be good, you have to be dedicated to growth -- and what an important and timely message that will always be. An immense thank you to Holly Black and Cassandra Clare for gracing our bookshelves with these lessons and messages. This series will always remind me the importance of good vs. evil, expecting the unexpected, and embracing all the change, and all of who we have the potential to be.
Comments
Post a Comment