This is a young adult novel that was recommended to me by my 15-year-old son. When I first started reading it, I was a little surprised by the writing which seemed less than stellar and somewhat trite. But the story quickly had me paying no attention to the writing! (Although I really do think it improved as it went along.)
The Rithmatist is the story of a young man, Joel, who attends a prestigious school in a fantasy steampunk world. He received admission because his father was a chalk-maker at the school and his mother is a cleaning lady, so he struggles to fit in with the wealthy student body. The elite class at the school are the rithmatists who train to keep the world save from wild "chalklings" with geometric drawings that come to life. (It's definitely fantasy.) Joel is a non-rithmatist student with a fascination for rithmatics and a natural talent in math and geometric drawings.
SPOILER ALERT It does have a positive ending (I'm not a fan of a book ending with the bad guys ahead, even when I know the good guys will prevail in a later book.), but it's clear the bad guys are still alive and well and even thriving. So the second book needs to come out quickly; I'm interested to see what will happen!
Like past Brandon Sanderson books, The Rithmatist is 100% clean and safe for all readers.
It is a quick easy read. Young adult books are easier, but it also draws you in, so that makes it go fast as well. It's easily worth the time.
