** spoiler alert ** 
 Well, I'm impressed! 
 First off, can people please stop whining about it being a "Harry Potter rip off"? If you -- for some bizarre reason -- find the books too similar in your opinion to enjoy them BOTH, pick one, read it, and move on. 
 My personal feeling on the matter is that while it shares SOME tropes used on the Potter series (and, since people seem not to realize this, I'll just SAY it: you can't copyright TROPES!), it uses them very differently. It is a story about a magically gifted "chosen one" but the twist is that it's our main character ISN'T said chosen one, his best friend is. 
 While this book came to me with recommendations, I was still a little unsure how much enjoyment I'd get out of it; I've read enough magical sassy kid middle-grade books that I tend not to get too excited about them. 
 However, I've enjoyed Cassandra Clare's work in the past, and I find Holly Black's writing while not very memorable, certainly passably readable, so that gave me a bit of hope. 
 Basically, this is the story of Call, a boy who doesn't want to go to magic school in a hidden cave, but is forcibly conscripted into doing so and unexpectedly finds himself enjoying friendships and accomplishments for the first time in his life. 
 While I found the world-building weak to the point of being practically non-existent in some parts, the characters really sparkle enough to carry the story. You've got Call, who comes across as a kid version of House MD (sarcastic with a bad leg); you've got Tamara who struggles between what she wants and want her parents want; and you've got Aaron, the ill-used but good natured chosen one. 
 And if these sound like cliches, they kind of ARE, but luckily Clare's strong point in writing IS taking old cliches and doing new and interesting things with them. This book was no exception. Not only did she choose to tell the story from the point of view of the chosen one's best friend, she also chose to tell it from the villain's! Near the end of the book, we find out Call IS the villain and didn't know it. And WOWIE is this masterfully pulled off. I felt all tingly, like when I'd get to the creepier endings of Are You Afraid of the Dark or Beyond Belief stories on T.V. as a little kid, reading that bit -- I couldn't tear my eyes from the page! 
 This alone makes me interested in the rest of the series to see how the authors handle the obvious nature vs. nurture issue this twist raises. 
 Sadly, I seem to have a talent for adoring characters that turn out to be villains then die within the last quarter of the novel.... And no I don't mean Call, because he obviously doesn't die; I mean Drew. 
 Poor, poor Drew. 
 Gosh I loved his character! He was funny and entertaining and to be honest I was as surprised that it was all an act as the other characters were. And yet, even so, I STILL liked him and didn't want him to die. I mean, first Christina Wendall from Hemlock Grove and now Drew... I sure can pick my favorites, can't I? 
 Sigh. 
 I really enjoyed this book though, regardless. It did have its slower points, but overall it kept my attention and told a darn good story! 
 Recommended!