The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Joel wishes he was a Rithmatist. He wishes that he could create elaborate defences, bring his chalk drawings to life and defend the American Isles from the deadly chalk creature know as wild chalkings. But sadly Joel is the only student at his school that isn't from a wealthy family or a Rithmatist. 

But things begin to change when students begin to disappear from Joel's school, leaving blood at the crime scene. He befriends a Rithmatist, Melody, and the two are assigned to help the professor that is investigating the crime scenes. And they begin to discover things that could change the world of Rithmatics forever.

Rate: 4.5

I have yet to read something by Brandon Sanderson that I didn't like. This was a pretty great book in my opinion. The world building was great as always. The magic system was elaborate, interesting and well put together. Plus I loved the characters, especially Melody. I also enjoyed the steampunk/gearpunk aspect to the book. I thought the illustrations of the chalkings and defences at the end of each chapter really helped the readers understand the magic system better. This book was super unique and it left many directions for the rest of the story to go.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Like I mentioned above, I love the characters in this book, especially Melody! I loved her spunk and overall personality. Plus, her friendship with Joel was great! Melody was the dramatic one, whereas Joel was the more thoughtful type, plus  were the two odd ones out, and it made for a great friendship. I loved how at the end, they teamed up at the tournament and won. That was a great scene to read. 

I really loved the magic system in this book, it was just so great! The chalkings and the defences were so cool. It was quite mathimatical, and sometimes complicated, and I know some people may not have liked it as much because of this, but I thought that was what made it so great. I really love complex magic systems, story lines, ect. Iv've come to the conclusion that Brandon Sanderson is a genius.

The end was a tad complicated, and I don't have the book with me (it's currently floating over the ocean) to look back on, so please excuse the vagueness (if there is any).

I loved the ending. The mystery, the Rithmatics, ect. The fact that Inspector Harding was being possessed by a forgotten was quite interesting. That changed things quite dramatically. And the same goes for Professor Nalizar, but we never found out exactly what he was. 

Then there were the newly discovered Rithmatic lines. That also changed things quite a bit. There could be many more out there that haven't been discovered yet. 

These two things combined leave the story line wide open. Many things could happen in the next book. You never know. But I'm excited to find out!