The Silver Mask by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Summary from Goodreads:

A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt. Now Call is one of the most feared and reviled students in the history of the Magisterium, thought to be responsible for a devastating death and an ever-present threat of war. As a result, Call has been imprisoned and interrogated. Everyone wants to know what Constantine was up to-and how he lives on. But Call has no idea. It is only when he's broken out of prison that the full potential of Constantine's plan is suddenly in his hands . . . and he must decide what to do with his power. In this spellbinding fourth book of Magisterium, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take us beyond the realm of the living and into the dangers of the dead.

Review:

These books are like popcorn. I can’t stop until I’ve gone through it all. Seriously, I read this one in less than a day. I wish more people read these books. I feel like they had some weird, negative press for book 1. And then no one kept reading them. I seriously love these middle grade stories. They are dark, twisted, full of magic and excellent characters, and suspense. These are books I’d put into the hands of reluctant readers, bored readers, and fantasy readers.

In this fourth installment, stuff is as dark and suspenseful as they can possibly get. Call is still reeling from the death of a loved one in the previous book. He’s also imprisoned and kind of left to rot, without knowing the shape of the rest of his friends. That is until he’s broken out and taken to the land of the enemy. It’s there, that he’s actually kind of embraced, educated, and taught to understand his crazy powers. He may even be taught how to bring back the dead.

There is so much I’d love to get into, but it would involve insane spoilers. Just know that not everything is as it seems in this book. Call has a lot of growing up to do. There’s fighting, sacrificing, magic, betrayals, power, death, and even a little bit of love. It was kind of hard reading this one because of the lack of a certain loved character. The dynamics are all off balance, kind of.

This one ended with another twist that had me surprised again. These books keep surprising me. I can’t wait to see what happens next. This wasn’t my favorite volume of the series. There did appear to be a couple of plot holes, and some super cheesy stuff with the bad guys that just seemed too over the top to me. But, otherwise, this was pure, buttery delicious popcorn. And I can’t wait to keep reading. This gets an 8/10.