If you know me even a little bit, you know that I am not a math person…AT ALL! I don’t understand it and, frankly, it scares me. It is astonishing, then, that I read The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson and even more so that I liked it! Sanderson blends mathmatical, specifically geometry, with fantasy in his latest book.
Rithmatists are powerful people and they are charged with protecting everyone else. They have the ability to make their drawings come to life. The creatures they create are called chalklings and will do whatever their creators direct them to do. Chalklings have a dangerous counterpart; wild chalklings do not follow anyone’s orders and, when they attack, the leave death in their wake.
Joel, the son of a chalkmaker, wants to be a Rithmatist more than anything. He has studied their defenses and drawings since he was very young, but this magical art was not meant for him. He attends Armedius Academy, where his father worked before his death. All Joel can do is learn and practice on his own…until Rithmatist students begin disappearing. The only clues are a trail of blood and strange chalk drawings on the wall. With the help of some unlikely friends, Joel is soon on the trail of the killer. It’s a trail that will lead to an unexpected discovery that will forever change the course of his life and the world.
Do YA Read? 