not a Harry Potter retread

Ok, so the story is about a group of kids learning to be mages at a special school, a terrible and evil enemy the whole Mage community is afraid of and a young boy who may be the one fated to face - and hopefully defeat - him, but it's really NOT Harry Potter redux. The authors have made their school unique and there are some tasty twists and turns that take the story in its own direction.

I've not previously read any of Holly Black's work, but I have read Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" and "The Infernal Devices." Obviously I enjoyed her work enough to read nine books worth, but there were times I found myself groaning at some of the excesses that seemed to pad out the stories. Here, it appears that Black's contributions have tamed those excesses, and it gives the books a much fresher feel than Clare's solo work alone had.

All in all, it was quite a nice book and I'm looking forward to the next installment